


Journeys: Friedrich Holmgardt Gaiden

by NorthSouthGorem, UnitedOsprey1991



Series: Journeys Gaiden Series [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Gaiden, Gen, Overpowered Protagonist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 57,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthSouthGorem/pseuds/NorthSouthGorem, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnitedOsprey1991/pseuds/UnitedOsprey1991
Summary: Who is the mysterious Friedrich Holmgardt and why is he helping the Riders? Well read and find out. This story is a meanwhile story when he isn't helping them save the universe. Better summary inside.
Series: Journeys Gaiden Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718596





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> NS: ALRIGHTY! It’s time for my guy to shine!
> 
> UO: You see, this story here is a Gaiden for my own story. For those not familiar, my name is UnitedOsprey1991 and I write the Journeys of the Dreamers series.
> 
> NS: An underrated, still slightly rough-around-the-edges sorta story.
> 
> UO: Understatement, probably because of who I have with one of the characters. Anyway this little side project came about when I asked NS to help beta read Journeys. As a result, his ideas are gonna start showing up as soon as I get to Fantasia which is Chapter 16 of the second book, Nakama United. Anyway because of the sheer depth of the story we decided to do a gaiden focusing on his character when he’s not interacting with my story directly.
> 
> NS: Just so. So yeah, this here is about a character I came up with awhile ago, using a little thing called the Worm CYOA. Those who know what that is will probably know where this is going. Those who don’t? Prepare of unashamed OPness.
> 
> UO: (Tries to say something only to get slapped with a wet fish)
> 
> NS: NO SPOILERS!
> 
> UO: Sorry! So anyway, the events of this chapter will take place starting in Chapter 16 of Nakama United. We will reveal which chapter each ties into if you want to follow this story more than the main one. Again, the OC will be in the main story, this is for when he’s on a different mission.
> 
> NS: Or in this case, before he even gets to the Guild.
> 
> UO: ALRIGHT! Let’s Take Flight! (Studio explosion) Oh my god seriously, what the heck set it off this time?
> 
> NS: Sorry Osprey, but this is my stage now!
> 
> UO: Just start the show. OC is NSG’s property, Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima’s blah blah about Pokemon blah blah Kamen Rider, you get the idea we’re poor they’re rich!

“Speech”  
_Thoughts_  
Text  
_Inner Dialogue_  
Belt/Phlebotinum/Super mode  
Attack/Skill/Power/Magic

Chapter 1: Hit the Road

_“-marks the third year since the infamous Golden Morning-”_

*click*

_“-Local hero Zenith has declined to shed light on the activities of her partner, the famous independent hero Foundation-”_

*click*

_“-Parahuman criminal activity is at an all-time low, but Parahuman Response Teams throughout the country are remaining vigilant. They’ve released no concrete reasoning as to why, but this reporter finds it likely that they’re unwilling to let all their new technology go to waste, provided by-”_

“Tch.” A brown-haired man waved his hand, dismissing the holographic screen. “Three years and everyone’s still going on about it.”

Friedrich Holmgardt sat in his lab, poring over a mass of circuit-boards. Armored gauntlets covered his hands, tiny plasma torches beaming from the fingertips into the material. The circuits glowed mysteriously as he muttered nonsensical words to himself.

The torches cut out as he heard the doors hiss open. He glanced up, cringing as the lights suddenly brightened to full capacity. “Hey, uncle Freddy,” sighed a young woman wearing sleek red power armor, “Still workin’ on your stuff?”

He grunted, returning to his project.

“Take that as a yes, then,” she said, smirking with some amusement, “People are still trying to get ahold of you, you know.”

“So I saw,” replied Friedrich, “Asking the same questions as every year. ‘How’d you do it? Why didn’t you try harder? Why didn’t you do it sooner?’ Feh. No thanks. I did my duty, that’s all there is to it.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’ve been keeping them off your back.”

“...Thanks, Kathy.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t feel like putting up with ‘em either, so I didn’t. Isn’t that what you taught me? Do what you want to be right.”

He snorted, gathering up the parts on his desk and standing up. “Did I really say it like that? What a shitty teaching.”

Kathy smiled, running a hand through her long, brown hair. “You’ve been better to me than he was,” she told him softly.

The man looked up into a reflective, half-completed archway. A pair of eyes gazed back at him, divided down the middle each, half green, half blue, pupils mismatched. “It’s been ten years,” he said quietly, those mismatched eyes tightening at the corners, “Ten years ago, I woke up in your uncle’s body, erasing his entire memory.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “Looking back, it’s hard to tell who was more scared.”

“You had your uncle replaced with a stranger.”

“Eh, he was always really distant anyway. _You’re_ the one who suddenly had to live in a strange house and take care of a kid.”

There was a clunk and a small whine of energy as a slab of circuited metal slotted into the archway, the seam between them vanishing.

“...What have you been making, uncle Freddy?” asked Kathy. It wasn’t an idle question, there was genuine, almost desperate curiosity in her voice. “Please. You’ve been so…I dunno, depressed, since you started building this thing.”

For a moment, Friedrich remained silent, slotting more pieces into place. Finally, he said quietly, “It’s an inter-universal portal, based off of Professor Haywire’s tech.”

Kathy’s shoulders slumped. “You're...leaving?”

“Yeah. I am. Ever since Scion, I’ve had the feeling like there’s nothing more I can do around here. _Those_ guys,” he tapped the side of his head, “Have been going on about reaching the end of the contract. I dunno. I just…feel like there’s nothing left to be had here.”

“What about me? I can’t just leave behind all the people depending on me.”

He shrugged lethargically. “Then stay. This portal’s only meant to be one-way; I’m flinging myself out into the great unknown, looking for something new. If I feel like it, I can use Doorman. In the meantime, I’ve arranged for my money and the house to go to you. All my black-boxed tech will be given to Dragon, so don’t be too surprised if she shows up.”

The brunette hung her head. “If you feel like it, huh…? Ten years ago, that would’ve pissed me off. But…I know, that’s just how you are.” Her uncle stiffened as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. “I’ll miss you.”

“Yeah…I’ll miss you too,” he admitted, turning around, “Keep up the good fight, Zenith. Don’t turn a blind eye to the evils of your fellow men and women.”

She snorted. “Trying for formality, are you?” Her expression became somber as she pulled a red mask from her back. It extended out to wrap around her face, enclosing it in a helmet. “Goodbye, Foundation. The groundwork you’ve laid will be remembered.”

Friedrich’s clothing, a long blue coat and baggy black cargo pants with thick boots, melted into a silver fluid, reforming into various mechanical parts that slotted together into a silver suit of armor. A glowing pair of blue and green eyepieces were the only real feature of his blank helmet. “Thanks. I hope that I’ll come back, one day…”

Behind him, a vortex of swirling energy flashed open, crackling and humming.

The two armored heroes watched each other for several long moments, simultaneously wanting to memorize this last sight and hoping their masks would hide their tears. Then, they both turned away, Friedrich towards his portal, Kathy towards the exit.

As he stepped through the glowing rift, there was a blinding flash of light and an ominous booming in the distance. When the flash dissipated, Friedrich was gone. One of the greatest heroes ever known to Earth Bet, vanished into the unknown void.

Unfortunately for him, the void was nowhere near as pleasant as he’d hoped. For as he stepped inside, the pull of gravity sucked him into the vastness. He would have screamed if he wasn’t used to craziness that his old home had. He was more amazed at how quick he was being pulled through the infinite mass. One unfortunate aspect of his teleporter was that the device didn’t have a way to set a destination. Or any real way for it to be tested.

Suddenly, he _did_ scream as pain streaked throughout his entire body. The scream was joined by four others, from inside his mind, as the manifestation of his powers found themselves ravaged by interdimensional forces.

He- they -came apart, then back together, so many times he couldn’t count, his armor shattering and blowing away into the ether. It felt like lightning striking him a million times a second. Then his body stretched thin as the gravity pulled him in a random direction. With a twinkle, he was pulled into a random pocket. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a weird red serpentine creature, roaring ferociously.

Unknown field, Fiore

With a boom and a swirling flash of light, Friedrich hit the ground with an “Oof!” of surprise, once more dressed in his long coat. He lay there, body aching and throbbing with residual shock. “I have… _so_ many regrets…!”

He took a few minutes to recover from the harrowing experience he’d just had, then clambered to his feet. “Gghh…a’right Janus, where am I?”

There was no reply. Some faint lights flickered in his eyes, but other than that, his armor gave no reaction

“Janus? Aw, crap, that’s not good.” Without his armor, he was nothing more than an abnormally strong human with superpowers. “Aaah, great, now what? Any roads? Any towns? Any…anything?” He closed his eyes, feeling for the energy that flowed from his head down to the rest of his body…only to wince. “Ow, shit! Oh come on! No magic?! What the fuck?!” He glared down at his left side. “Have _you_ decided to fuck off as well?”

_ No. I’m hungry. _

“...Well, at least _some_ things don’t change,” he grumbled. He looked around, seeing nothing but flat land and trees all around.

“Okay, direction time.” He closed his eyes and chanted. “Eeny, meeny, miny, that way!” He pointed to his left. “When in doubt, go to the left.”

He began his casual stroll down the path he chose. As he walked he made casual observations. “Air’s too clean. Must be pre- or early Industry. Lots of old growth trees, so expansion’s been limited. Could mean it’s a magical world, or for some reason they hate tech. God knows there’s probably a thousand of those!” He scratched his head agitatedly. “Ah, whatever. I’ll figure it out later…”

And so he continued on. The sun shone brightly directly above him, making him grumble and shrug off his coat. Underneath he wore an olive-green, long-sleeved shirt, and sheathed at his right hip was a combat knife.

“Hold up, stranger!” called a voice some time later. Friedrich blinked, coming out of his trance of endless walking and looked up. A man stood in the road ahead, leaning on a signpost that he couldn’t read and dressed in a black jacket, white pants and with a red scarf around his neck.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Friedrich asked irritably.

“You must be new to these parts. You got to know in order to get through, you got to pay a toll.”

“Really?” The wayward traveled deadpanned, thinking, _This guy’s like the turnpike back home._ “How much?”

“100,000 jewels!” The man grinned greedily.

_Scratch that, he’s worse!_ He gave a long-suffering sigh and drew his knife. “How about we add a little one-hundred percent discount to that, just off the top?” he asked idly.

The man laughed. “Boy. You got some balls on you. Don’t you know that Acalypha Town is under the jurisdiction of Naked Mummy?”

“...I dunno which is worse,” deadpanned Friedrich, completely unimpressed, “Your attempt at being intimidating, the name of the town or the name of that…whatever ‘Naked Mummy’ is.” He smirked. “I’d say you need balls just to say that without _laughing.”_

The man’s smile vanished. “You’ve just made the _biggest_ mistake of your life,” he growled, pulling an object out of his pocket.

Friedrich squinted. “What’s that, a tricked-out USB?” he asked skeptically. Then he blinked. “Wait…why would something like that be-?”

The man pressed a button on the object, and a voice called out **MINOTAUR**.

“-here…?” Friedrich trailed off. “...Did that thing just announce itself?”

Snarling, the man pulled up the side of his shirt, revealing a dark spot on his hip, which he slammed the device into.

“Dude! That’s not how you...Use one?” Friedrich started his new adversary glowed and morphed, suddenly towering over him. Where the man had stood was no a massively muscled, horned, bull-headed beast, carrying a bone club.

The traveller watched the man beast snort at him. “Two things. One, tooth-paste and dentistry. Ever heard of ‘em? Apparently not! Don’t worry, they might _seem_ scary, but they’re not all that bad once you get ‘em over with…”

“ **What’s the other part?”** grumbled the minotaur.

“Uh…shit, I forgot, hang on…”

This made the minotaur nearly fall over. “ **We’re supposed to be fighting! Not talking!”**

*BANG!*

The beast stumbled, shaking his head with a snort of surprise as a bullet bounced off his forehead.

“That enough fighting for you?” asked Friedrich coolly, both arms gripping the revolver that had appeared out of nowhere. The sheath for his knife was suddenly empty.

**“Guhuhuhuhuhu!”** Chortled the bestial man **, “So you _do_ have balls! Sorry, but only a Rider’s gonna get through this hide! HAH! This Gaea Memory thing is a blast! UUUURRYAAAAAH!” He charged forward with blinding speed, swinging his club with a rush of wind.**

Friedrich cursed, rolling backwards. The club just barely missed him, but the shockwave knocked him off-balance and he only had just enough time to avoid getting stomped on. With how large that thing’s hooves were and the force of its stamping, one wrong move could crush him. “Should’ve really Bonesaw’d myself,” he muttered, righting himself and watching the minotaur skid to a stop, “But noooo~ I had to be squeamish about the _surgery!”_ He sighed irritably, while the revolver in his hand flashed with green light, becoming a heavier rifle. He hefted it and, taking aim with frightening speed, let off another shot.

**“I already told you, that won’t-!”**

Another flash of green, and he was holding a sniper rifle.

*BLAM!!!*

“Gah!” The minotaur stumbled back, sparks spilling from his muscular chest.

“So, I dunno what kinda Rider you’re talking about, but I guess a high enough caliber will do the trick,” taunted Friedrich, cocking the bolt, “Now, if I were a bettin’ boy, taking out that USB’ll probably take _you_ out too.” *BLAM!!!* The minotaur roared and clutched at his right side, red sparks pouring like blood between his thick fingers. “Well, whatdya know? Bullseye.”

His rifle flashed green, parts fading away to be replaced by an anti-tank rifle.

*BOOM!!!!!!*

The monster was lifted off his feet, spinning around until he collapsed in an undignified heap.

“...FUCK that was loud!” complained Friedrich, eyes screwed up as his ears rang. The rifle dissolved into green light, returning to his sheath as his combat knife, while the Minotaur staggered to his feet.

**“You…what kinda weapons are those?!”** groaned the man-turned-beast, hands clasped over the gaping, glowing hole that had been torn in his side. **“I’ll kill you! I’LL KILL YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!”** he bellowed with fury, eyes flashing a malevolent red, skin taking on a violet hue.

**MINOTAUR: MAXIMUM DRIVE**

The monster _vanished_ in a blur of speed so suddenly that for a split-second, Friedrich found himself staring at an afterimage before- *WHAM!* “Ghuh-!” he gasped, eyes bulging. On instinct, his knife had transformed into a riot shield, but the impact still knocked him back, shattering it in an instant. He bounced along the ground like a ragdoll, his arm throbbing with intense pain. Nowhere near as bad as when he’d traveled through the portal, but it still felt like something had cracked, if not broken. When he finally rolled to the ground, he had no time to lie there and regain his breath, forcing himself back up. His left arm hung limply, fingers twitching badly. The shards of his shield dissolved and reformed in his right hand as his knife. _Damn it, Parasite! Give me something! This guy’s gonna kill me!_

_ …Hmph. Aegis, four-minute burst. _

Suddenly, the pain in his arm lessened as the muscle surrounding the fractured bone stiffened up to compensate, letting him move it again. “About damn time, you greedy little bug!” he grunted, clenching a fist experimentally.

Adrenaline started flowing, letting the man see that his opponent was charging at him again, horns lowered. The minotaur roared as he thundered horns-first towards Friedrich. The man leaped into the air and hung there, just barely high enough for the monster to pass underneath. “Y’know, flying feels kinda like cheating here,” he commented idly, reaching into his coat, “But under the circumstances, I’ll cope.” He pulled out a pair of long iron nails, gripped between his fingers, while his knife flashed into the other hand.

The minotaur whirled around, steam billowing from his flared nostrils, showing in the process that he still possessed the gaping hole in his side, from which sparks leaked. Looking closely, Friedrich saw that the mysterious USB was visible through it. “You’re through.” With that one comment, he _hurled_ the nails outward. There was a crack of air being displaced as magnetic force seized the three rods. All three of them _slammed_ into the wound, piercing the monster’s flesh deeply.

As he stumbled back, roaring in agony, Friedrich touched down on the ground. He held his knife point-up, the butt of the handle held lightly between two fingers, while an aura of ghostly, green flames emanated from it. **“Circus Trick,”** he announced, face a mixture between boredom, severity and judgement.

He flicked his hand, sending the blade _screaming_ through the air like an arrow, leaving a brilliant green contrail behind. It speared straight through the minotaur, making him freeze as it passed straight through and emerged from the other side. With a beckoning gesture, the green, blazing knife turned sharply and zigzagged back through the air towards him. Friedrich caught it by the tip, tossed it up and caught it, admiring the device impaled on the serrated blade. It was hard to tell from the cracked casing, but he saw that the USB was marked with a stylized letter M.

“Weird. What’s a USB drive doing out here anyway?”

The minotaur fell to his knees, a moan of despair escaping his large mouth **. “N-no…! The memory…give me back…my Gaea Memory!”**

Friedrich spared him a glance out of the corner of his eye. “Still transformed, huh? Eh, what the hell. Here.” He flicked the knife, sending the device spinning away, shedding bits of metal, circuitry and plastic as it went. The minotaur cried out, reaching for it, but it hit the ground and shattered with a glassy chime.

The monster froze, color draining out of its body before, to Friedrich’s astonishment, it suddenly blew up in a massive fireball. “HOly shit!” he yelped, rocking back on his heels, only to hiss as his arm suddenly twinged in pain.

_ Time’s up. _

“Oh, you arbitrary little shit!” he snarled, grabbing his wrist, “Fine, just give me some regen or something!”

_ Don’t wanna. _

_“Fuck you!”_ Before Friedrich could continue the admittedly one-sided conversation, a groan was heard from the site of the explosion. He looked around to see the man who had transformed lying face down on the ground, completely unharmed. Even his clothes were intact. “What the hell? So your transformation doesn’t affect your clothes but made them vanish?” He walked over to the man, turning him over with his foot. “Hey. Wake up, dumbass.”

The thug jerked awake, staring up at him in horror. “D-d-don’t kill me!” he yelped, crossing his arms over his face.

Friedrich grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t yet,” he grunted, unimpressed, “Now, I got questions, you got answers. One question, one answer. You don’t got an answer, we got a problem. _We_ got a problem, _you_ got a problem.” He glared down at him. “Get me?”

The guy nodded his head rapidly, eagerly. “Y-yeah, I get you!

“First question! What the heck was all of that you just had? I’ve never seen a device that could transform someone so quickly. Even Lab Rat couldn’t do stuff like with just a USB…”

“U-uh…”

He jerked his head impatiently. “Ignore that last part. _What_ was that device?”

“A-A Gaea memory! I-its power can turn any human into powerful beasts!”

“Define beasts,” ordered the blue-clad man.

The thug twitched. “A-ah, well, n-not just like what I had…my bosses, th-their Gaea Memories have different powers, b-but they still transform!”

Friedrich nodded, frowning thoughtfully. “Did they get it from anyone?”

“L-look man, I’m just a lowlife. If you want to know more, you gotta talk to my b-boss!”

“Who are these Riders?”

“I’m…not really sure,” admitted the man, “Just heard the name, is all. They’ve been d-destroying all of the Gaea memories they come across. They’re heroes to the civilians, but I’ve heard rumors the Magic Council doesn’t like them, since they’ve been the only ones to even d-destroy them.”

“I seemed to manage just fine,” he deadpanned, _“Fucking broken arm notwithstanding.”_

“Eek!”

“Tch. Whatever. Who are your bosses and what Gaea Memories do they have?”

The thug remained silent.

Friedrich’s eyes narrowed. “...What, you think they’ll protect you? I just beat you and destroyed your Gaea Memory. I’m guessing that’s a precious resource to you and your group.”

“It is! The person who sold it to us wanted 2 million Jewels each!”

“Guess Jewels are the currency...what world uses them?” Friedrich thought aloud.

“World?” asked the interrogated goon, confused.

“Don’t worry your head. Now, what can you tell me about these...Riders?”

He shrugged. “Nothin’. Never even seen them before, but they show up wherever there are Dopants. The fact that they haven’t caught us means they don’t have any way to actually find us without searching.”

“Any common thread?”

“Um...Oh yeah, they started showing up about...maybe six weeks ago? Magnolia was the first confirmed sighting.”

Friedrich frowned. _Oi, Parasite, care to gimme Tattletale?_

_ Don’t wanna. _

_Feh._ “And how long have there been Dopants, compared to that?”

“No idea.”

“Tch. Alright, question-time’s over for now. Get up. We’re walking,” he ordered, gesturing.

The man blinked, but slowly got to his feet. “Uh, o-okay…where’re we going?”

Friedrich snorted impatiently. “Where else? To that village you were talking about. I’m hungry, tired, got a bad injury and I don’t know where else to go.”

He pushed the man forward with his good arm, forcing him to lead the injured taveller. As they walked, Friedrich was thinking about what the man said. _Gaea Memories, huh? USB drives that can be inserted into a body and supercharge their strength by turning them into monsters. First thing I wanna know is how the hell that works. Second, whoever runs that operation must have some serious money to be able to pull that off. Third, is who else has one?_

His thoughts shifted to something else. _‘And just who are these...Riders? I’ve never heard of such a term in most of the worlds I can think of. There’s no way it’s a Holy Grail War, or Alagaesia. The closest I can think of is some sort of armored heroes...Power Rangers? It fits, I guess. But I’ve never heard Power Rangers go by that name. Maybe something else._

_Ah, whatever. I’ll figure it out eventually. Just gotta be patient. Take it one thing at a time…just like the old days._


	2. Strong as Steel/Sure As Shell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friedrich begins his plans to liberated Acpalytha Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NS: Now for the good stuff! Last chapter was just the introduction, this is where we get to the real excitement!
> 
> UO: Cue the Jojo music!
> 
> (Studio turns into various colors)
> 
> NS: Gah! Technicolor! It burnssss!
> 
> UO: Why!?????

**Disclaimer: NorthSouthGorem does not own Fairy Tail, Kamen Rider, or Worm. Neither does Unitedosprey1991.**   
_Thought_   
_ Inward Communication _   
**Belt/Monster/Super form  
Spell/Technique/Finisher**

Chapter 2: Strong as Steel/Sure as Shell

The walk to the village was long and awkward between the two. This was mainly due to having nothing to talk about and the fact that Friedrich had no music to listen to.

Finally, they reached the town gate. “I don’t see much of a village here,” the world traveller muttered, “More like a ghost-town.”

Friedrich’s prisoner stared at him. “Well, this is a day out of the main town Magnolia. Made it easy to take over and set up a potential base to expand.”

He frowned, but nodded. Before he could comment, the man suddenly elbowed him in the arm, making him cry out and stagger as his fractured radius and ulna flared up fiercely. By the time he whipped about, lashing out angrily, the man was gone. “Damn it!” he hissed, clenching his injured fingers angrily, “Now I’m on a timetable…feh. Magnolia, he said? Sounds familiar…agh, I’ll just have to look out for anything that’ll help.”

Grumbling and cradling his injured arm, he walked off down the street. “Got to be some doctor’s office around here. I’m pretty much screwed if I can’t find a way to get my arm working…”

The atmosphere across the town blew emptily, hollowly, across his back, making him grimace. People he passed on the street kept their eyes to the ground, hurrying from place to place. Out of the corner of his eye, Friedrich spotted people watching him from the alleyways and windows, only to vanish the moment he turned his head. “Great. One of those places. So much for asking directions,” he muttered, scowling, “This Street’s too wide. Too easy for an ambush…”

As if on cue, a group of five men strolled out onto the road and blocked his path, standing side by side. Most disconcertingly, while their clothes varied, their faces were remarkably similar…and monkey-like. All five of them carried rudimentary firearms, which he recognized as flintlocks, in their scrawny hands. Frankly, he’d seen better guns at an arcade. “What?” he asked bluntly.

“Heeheheheh~” giggled one in a high-pitched voice, “Sorry, stranger, but this town’s recently fallen on some hard times-”

“Clearly,” deadpanned Friedrich, “If the zoo’s totally lost control. Listen, I’m not in the mood to have any of the shit you’re throwing, so let’s just skip the organ-grinder routine and you _leave.”_ The knife at his hip flashed into his uninjured hand as a small-bore pistol.

One of the other goons cackled like a gremlin. Or rather, like a stereotypically annoying henchman. “Only one of us is leavin’, man!”

The blue-clad man rolled his eyes, before his gun discharged with a loud crack and the middle thug staggered back, collapsing, foaming at the mouth as a dart protruded from his arm. Before the others could react, Friedrich fired four more times, dropping them without a change in expression. “Sounds like a plan to me,” he agreed belatedly.

“Wow mister that was really cool!” Friedrich turned his head to see a six year-old, blue-haired boy running up to him. He beamed up at him, brown eyes sparkling, “How’d you beat them all so fast?!”

Despite himself, the older man smiled wanly. “Well, mostly ‘cause they’re stupid and I’m not.” When dealing with children, it was always best to be direct and not mince words.

“Can you do other tricks?”

He shrugged. “I _could._ Kinda having trouble doing anything right now.”

The boy cocked his head. “Why’s that…? Ah! Mister, your hand!”

Indeed, Friedrich’s left hand was looking particularly poor, swollen and bruised an unhealthy blue, the fingers limp. His smile became strained as he quickly hid the injured limb in a pocket. “A-ah, don’t worry about it. But, er, if you could t-tell me where the doctor is around these parts, I’d be real happy, yeah?”

“Jason! Get back here!” A relatively young woman ran up to them. “You know those thugs are out on the street. You could get hurt!”

“But Mom! He took down five of them down like it was _nothing!_ It was like pew-pew-pew and, and then they all fell down!”

The woman stopped and snapped her head towards the downed thugs, only just noticing them. Then she gazed at Friedrich in surprise. “You did this with your arm like that?”

He held up his gun meaningfully. “Ah, well, the great equalizer and all that, don’tcha know?”

Before he could say more, the woman and boy gasped. Friedrich raised an eyebrow and turned around.

“Hey, you. Are you the one that did this to my boys?” The man asking was a good deal stockier than him, thick-set, with a brown bowler cap, an unshaven, square jaw and a vest patterned like bandages. He fixed Friedrich with a stalwart look that likely would have cowed someone who gave a shit.

The one beside him was taller, with a grey newsie cap, pointed chin and greasy hair. “You know, I’d say he is, Sheamus,” he sneered, “In fact, isn’t this the guy Micky just told us about?”

“I reckon you’re right, Ian.”

A vein pulsed in Friedrich’s temple. “Are you going to keep asking stupid questions that you already know the answer to?” he grunted, “Or are you gonna try and find out for yourselves what I did to ‘Micky?’”

Sheamus stirred, in the way that one did when they tried not to move too much. “We don’t take kindly to trespassers making trouble on our turf, beating up our boys. You know what happens to them?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Friedrich drawled, rolling his eyes.

“They get _crushed_ between two hard places!” Ian snapped, “Here’s a demonstration.”

Both thugs reached into their pockets and pulled out the same USB-like devices that the man from earlier had.

“Again with these things?” he sighed, “Do they sell them like heroin?” Inwardly, however, he was sweating. _I damn near broke my arm against_ one. _How am I gonna take down two!?_

Sheamus tapped the button on his, a black stick marked with what looked like a green, hex-patterned circle, split in half along an S shape.

**SHELL!**

Ian grinned, tapping his lighter gray device and pulling at the rim of his cap.

**STEEL!**

The taller man pulled open his shirt, revealing a mark on his sternum, and _slammed_ the Gaea Memory home. Likewise, his stocky companion held up the back of his hand and pressed his down into it. Both bodies glowed as their bodies morphed. Sheamus’s body grew into an even thicker, leathery, hunched-over figure, slightly larger than Friedrich. Ian’s body dissolved into liquid metal, then reformed into a muscular, steely humanoid that looked to be half muscle, half armor.

 **“Brace yourself,”** growled Sheamus, **“For Naked Mummy’s Tyrant Terrapin.”**

**“And me, Steel Grinder!”**

Without another word, the former suddenly charged forward. A thick, black carapace suddenly expanded from his leathery flesh, instantly coating him in armor. A set of spiraled studs likewise grew from the knuckles of his new gauntlet.

Cursing under his breath, Friedrich hopped back, leaning to avoid a blisteringly fast haymaker that sent the wind blowing past his face. His good hand snapped up, gun shifting into a more lethal model, and fired right into the armored behemoth’s face.

Unfortunately, while all of his shots were dead on, not a single one scratched the shell helmet that had grown over the Dopant’s head. _Crap. Can’t use any of the big stuff like against that other guy with my arm like this!_ he thought, _I need something that’s light, but stronger! I need…I need…oh, shit! WHERE ARE MY IDEAS?!_

Inside his mindscape, there was nothing but a flat, glassy landscape. None of the knowledge-cities he’d spent the last ten years building up remained. Only five stars hovering in the sky to make new ones.

 **“Daydreaming, are we?!”** Steel Grinder hopped up onto his partner’s back and leaped into the air, whirling into a heavy downward strike. Friedrich made to jump back further, only to feint and leap forward. **“What?!”** The metal Dopant’s fist struck the ground, sinking into it with a crunch and creating spider webbed cracks. He was up again almost instantly, lashing out with a deadly kick, only for his enemy to duck underneath and _push_ against the leg holding him up, making him stumble.

Friedrich rolled away and got back onto his feet. “Don’t get cocky!” he barked, “It’s ten years too late for you to take me in a fight”

**“Forget me, twerp!?”**

“Hohshit!” He whirled about, still crouching, to strike Tyrant Terrapin in the ankle with a swift kick, making him stumble, but had to scramble out of the way so that his weight didn’t catch the outstretched foot and crush it. “Gah! Why do you brute types always have to be so tough?!” he snapped, ducking under the shelled Dopant so that the two were no longer surrounding him.

Steel Grinder giggled, reaching out to grab his partner’s hand even as he ran at Friedrich. **“If you don’t like it, hit back!”** he sneered, **“Or are you too scared~?”** He lifted and _hurled_ Terrapin at the man, the black-armored Dopant abruptly sprouting a dozen wicked, twisted spikes as he curled up into a ball.

Time slowed down as Friedrich considered how best to react. _Judging by the force of his hits and his weight, with his speed, blocking this won’t work. Not enough time to build up strength and jump over. High chance of a grazing hit if I go under or to the sides…_

The weapon in his hand flashed and dissolved and with a shout, he _heaved_ the resulting sledgehammer around with one arm. With an earsplitting *BANG!* of metal on stone, the spiked ball slowed down and fell, a snarl of pain issuing from within as the shell cracked slightly. Even as Friedrich reared back for another one-handed blow, the material repaired itself.

 _Okay. I can’t put lasting damage on him, and the other guy’s_ definitely _out of the question. Gonna need an escape plan._ He glanced over to the boy and his mother. _Shit, and_ they’re _still there! Parasite? Anything?’_

_ Hn… _

_Can’t you see what they’re doing?!_

_ Yes. Those little objects are doing all the work. So boring. Do not want. _

Suddenly, Tyrant Terrapin reared back, arms together for an overhead slam. Friedrich made to backstep, but his mismatched eyes suddenly widened as an instinct instead forced him to leap to the side. The thickly armored Dopant, instead of smashing down on him, instead grabbed the wrists of his partner behind him and threw the metallic monster at the blue-coated man.

“Shit!’” Friedrich yelled as the dopant flew at him. He rolled away at the last second, but the tip of an errant foot caught him in the back, knocking him flat.

“Ghah!” _Come on you stupid thing, give me something before they kill me!_

_ Oni Lee. Four bursts. _

He grinned. _Of course._

The two Dopants surged forward, one from the front, one from behind, so quickly that he had no time to react. With a sickening *CRUNCH!* the two collided, smashing the tall man between their heavy, unnaturally hard bodies…

Only for Friedrich to suddenly explode into gray ash, leaving them to choke and sputter.

**“He turned to dust!?**

**“Where the hell’d he go?”**

A whistle caught their attention, making them look around. They saw their opponent crouching next to two of the civilians, slinging his arms over their shoulders. He looked back to give the two of them a glare. “I’ll be back for you later!”

Terrapin snarled and charged forward, spiraling horns sprouting from his helmet. They pierced Friedrich’s back, making him cry out, but then he, and the others he’d held, abruptly collapsed into ash.

The Steel Dopant sighed and with a flash of light, returned to his normal tall, gangly self, pulling his Gaea Memory out of his chest. “Looks like this guy’s a slippery one.”

With another flash and a crumbling of carapace, Sheamus straightened up, fixing his bowler hat back in place. “Cocky punk,” he growled, “Lookin’ down on us, on our guild…!” He punched a nearby wall, cracking it.

FHG

Blocks away, far enough that his enemies wouldn’t think to look, Friedrich let his passengers go and clutched at his arm, groaning. “Ugh. I hate using that,” he grumbled, turning to the brown-haired young woman, “You should get out of here. Those guys are only after me.”

“No!” protested the boy, eyes wide with fear, “Y-you’re hurt, mister!”

“Yeah, I know,” he grunted, “But if you stay, they might try and use you to hurt me some more!” He knelt down and patted the kid on the head with his good hand. “Don’t worry!” Friedrich told him, smiling tightly, “I might not look it, but I used to be a real hero! Guys like that are nothing!”

“Really?” Jason’s eyes brightened.

“Jason, please calm down,” his mother chastised him firmly, clearly trying to act as a voice of reason, “Sir, first off, you never told us your name.”

“It’s Friedrich,” he replied, nodding, “Friedrich Holmgardt.”

“Well, Friedrich,” she said, smiling slightly, “After what you just did, it wouldn’t be right to just leave you injured like that.” She took hold of his good wrist. “Come on. One of the local doctors is residing in my home at the moment.”

Friedrich sighed, but nodded, as the woman led him down an alley. A few minutes later, they arrived at a quaint, white-washed, one-story home. As they entered, the traveler saw an elderly looking man who he assumed was the doctor. The man looked up. “Another patient?” he sighed, “Come in, I’ll get you patched up.” He glanced at the mother. “Who is he?”

“This is Friedrich. He was able to save my boy from those monster ruffians.”

“Did he, now? Well, let’s see what we can do for ‘im.”

The wayward traveller was led to a bed so the doctor could take a look. As it turned out, the reason he was in so much agony was that his shoulder his shoulder was dislocated. With Parasite acting up, he couldn’t fix it. So, after grabbing something to bite into and telling Jason to turn away, the doctor helped pop it back in place.

“AAAAaagh, GOD! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!” Friedrich hollered, very decidedly NOT taking the experience in a mature fashion. He wanted to curse more, but there was a six year old child in the room. However, before he knew it, the bone popped back into the socket and all of a sudden he was suffused with an overwhelming feeling of relief. “Ooooh, man, dad wasn’t kidding,” he groaned, rubbing at it, “Thanks for that, doc. That clown really did a number on me.”

“Consider yourself lucky it was only a dislocated shoulder, young man,” grunted the doctor, “Apart from some deep bruising, the bones themselves are fine. Most of my patients have come in with worse injuries. Thank goodness no one’s dead yet.”

Friedrich hummed, clenching and unclenching his fist experimentally. “Not broken? Are you sure? I could’ve sworn I felt ‘em…erg, whatever.” He shook himself and looked up. “What the hell happened around here?”

The doctor leaned back, rubbing his face with a sigh. “What _didn’t?_ About a week ago, a Dark Guild came into town and took over the local merchant guild, Love and Lucky. We tried to fight back, but these bizarre creatures came out of nowhere and basically locked us all down. We were able to smuggle a messenger out to get it to the legal Guilds. Our best bet was Fairy Tail, but I just heard that another guild attacked them. They might not have the manpower to come to us for some time. It’s a shame too. These Riders the people are talking about are supposedly related to them. They scare the dopants something fierce.”

“I see,” Friedrich muttered. In his head, however, he was making several conclusions. _Fairy Tail guild!? Of all the worlds I could go to…but, Riders associated with them? What’s that all about?_ “Yeah, that’s some bad news.” _Fairy Tail being attacked by a guild? That could only be Phantom Lord. That means I’m early in canon._ Then his thoughts turned to the Riders. _The question now is, who_ are _these Riders? I would think at minimum Natsu could be one, main character and all…right?_ “Well, I’d help you out if I could, it’s kinda my thing, but unfortunately my…well, my magic isn't working right.”

The doctor frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He threw up his hands in frustration. “I don’t know either! I can still feel the energy or whatever, but I just can’t focus on using it!”

“Have you recently had any other trauma? Perhaps your injuries are not just physical.”

Friedrich shuddered. “Ooh, yeah, I can think of something…”

“Anything worth knowing?”

“No. I’d rather not think back on it.”

The doctor scratched his head, grimacing. “Well, sorry, but that’s outside my area of expertise. I can fix the body, but magic?” He shrugged.

“Ah, don’t worry too much, then,” groaned Friedrich, “It’ll come back when it feels like it.”

Jason walked over to him, eyes wide with concern once more. “Are you sure you're okay without your magic?

Friedrich smiled and chuckled. “Like I said, don’t worry about it. Once my arm stops hurting, I’ll think of something.”

Jason bit his lip and then brightened. “I got something! Maybe you could use it! Hang on!” he ran from the room.

The older man gave the boy’s mother a quizzical look. “Any idea what he’s talking about?”

The woman sighed. “A few guesses. Used to be that merchants with magic items would pass through this town, and he’d always beg me to buy something from them. Since barely anyone around here uses magic, though, they haven’t come by recently.”

“Your son can use magic?” asked Friedrich, mildly surprised.

She shrugged, looking gloomy. “I don’t know. For some reason, he’s never shown me, or said anything about it.”

Before he could say anything in response, Jason sprinted back down the stairs. “Here, mister, you can use this!”

The wayward traveler looked at what the young boy brought down. He held up a silver ring, capped with a tiny symbol on a blue background. “Here!”

“Thanks, buddy.” The older man took it, turning it over in his fingers. “This is magic?”

“Yep!” said the blue-haired child.

As Friedrich examined it, he felt something shifting in his head. The energy that he’d felt inside him for ten years, blocked off by his traumatic journey, began to shift into a pattern. It resonated with the ring in his hands, as if changing to suit a particular filter, or flow through a system. Something told him that this was a good thing. “Yeah, I think it’ll do,” he said quietly, pocketing it. Then he glanced at his left side, rubbing the spot where his kidney would be. _What about you, Parasite? Done throwing a fit?_

_ Go find someone new to fight. _

He chuckled. “Alright.” He cracked his knuckles, noticing that his arm was already far less painful than before. “I’m gonna go pay Naked Mummy a visit and send those Dopants packing. Anyone got any advice?”

Everyone present shook their heads, staring at him with disconcerted expressions.

“No? Alright, I’ll just wing it, then. Oh yeah, might as well get back to using Charges.” _Two charges to guns, two to single-use weapons._

The knife sheathed at his side vibrated, pulsing with green light.

FHG

Hours passed. The sun dipped behind the horizon, leaving color from the sky and eventually leading to starry black.

The headquarters of Naked Mummy, located at the outskirts, was a simple building, formerly a bar before they’d taken it over. There were only a dozen-odd members, mostly those monkey-faced mooks, trained in Gun magic, along with their bosses, Ian Corntill and Sheamus Morven.

Inside, everyone was drinking and chatting. “I can’t believe this town was so easy to take!”

“Now we can set our sights on Magnolia!”

“HAHAHAAH! With our powers, we’re unstoppable!”

Seated near the back in one of the better wooden chairs, Sheamus grunted, pulling his hat lower. “Idiots. As if we’re ready to take on Fairy Tail, if one lucky punk with a gun can take you down.”

“B-but boss, that guy just got lucky!”

“Yeah! If we’d been ready, that guy would be full of lead.”

Ian cackled. “Hey now, listen to him, boys! Things are a lot more serious over in the west, aren’t they?” The beanpole boss was shrugging on his jacket, ready to hit the town.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” grumbled his partner, glancing over.

He smirked, putting up his hands. “Nothing, nothing! But for someone who knows so much about Alvarez’s military habits, you sure do paint a grim picture of them, that’s all.”

Sheamus huffed, turning away. “Just get on your way, ya chuckling fuckwit.”

“Fine, fine…might as well drag that tryhard, too-cool-for-us bastard out from where he’s hiding while I’m at it.”

“G-give him one for me, boss!” called Micky, who was huddled in the corner. The former Dopant had been thoroughly chastised by his seniors when he’d returned with news of his loss.

“Shut it, Micky. If I give ‘im anything, it’ll be for wasting our money,” snapped Ian, looking annoyed for the first time, “You’d better hope he’ll be entertaining enough for me to forget _your_ fuckup.”

The goon flinched, as did everyone except Sheamus. They all knew that the taller boss was by far the more dangerous when enraged.

“Well! I’m off! Seeya later, boys!” he called, all smiles again as he sauntered out of the bar doors.

The guild went back to their drinks and stories, while Sheamus pulled his hat back down and leaned back in his chair.

The revelry was cut short as the doors slammed open again. The group turned to see the tall form of Friedrich, the setting sun behind him casting in a glowing light. “Sorry about the wait, I had something to take care of. I’m back.”

The Naked Mummy guild stared at him, briefly stunned at his audacity. Sheamus snorted. “You think after what you did earlier, you can beat us?”

“What I think is irrelevant,” scoffed the hero, striding forward without a care in the world, “I _know_ I can beat you, barfly. Last time, I was injured and pretty much unarmed.” He pulled a silver ring out of his pocket and slid it onto the middle finger of his uninjured left hand. “Now? You’re through.”

Even as everyone else pulled out their guns, the boss stood up, cracking his neck. “Never,” he growled lowly, “Have I met anyone so _arrogant._ Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Friedrich grinned, the wind from the door whipping about his coat. He jerked a thumb at himself. “My name,” he declared stridently, “Is _Friedrich Holmgardt!”_ His green and blue eyes blazed with determination, while he pointed at them all. “Feel free to curse it as much as you like, _on your way down.”_

“Did you practice that one in front of the mirror?” drawled Sheamus, standing up, “Because it needs work.”

“What can I say? When you’re a badass, you can make up any line you want.“

“You know,” he said slowly, cracking his knuckles, “Back then, I figured I only needed the power of the Shell Memory. You weren’t worth using the magic that I trained for.”

A black, smoky insectoid opened its five eyes. _Hm…?_

“But now that you’ve pissed me off, you get to see it. Face the magic of the Alvarez Empire! **Command V: Acceleration!”**

Sheamus _blurred,_ almost out of sight. Friedrich’s eyes widened as he instinctively held up his arms to block. However, he was unprepared for the rapid-fire punch that struck his forearm to almost immediately be followed up by a strike to the gut. He barely even had time to react before a heavy blow caught him in the jaw.

He reeled back, stumbling, only for Sheamus to seize him by the wrist and _pull_ him forward into a heavy punch. And another. And another- until suddenly his fist stopped dead against a transparent, blue wall. “Ow,” grunted Friedrich, “Damn, that smarts.” _Parasite._

_ I see it. Mirrormask, Trickster. _

Friedrich grinned as two more powers settled in. “My turn!” His eyes flicked over his opponent’s shoulder.

Sheamus’s next punch crunched deep into a mouth…that belonged to one of his monkey-faced lackeys. His eyes widened, even as his guy went sailing away. “What the-!?”

“Boss, he’s over- gah!” Another guy cried out. The man whirled around to see that somehow, his enemy had not only gotten away from him, but also buried himself deep in the group of his lackeys.

Friedrich whirled about, lashing out with a series of punches and kicks in all directions. Although they were not heavy, the blows caught the group off guard and knocked them away. “Heh. Now you see me…”

They all stumbled, some falling, but the rest righted themselves and whirled around, guns at the ready to fill the interloper with lead. One of them spotted him on his left and grabbed him for a headbutt, only for someone else to grab _his_ shoulder and spin him around. The last thing he saw before a flintlock smashed into his temple was Friedrich’s face, twisted in a snarl.

However, even as the Friedrich who’d knocked him out looked away, his eyes widened as _another three_ Friedrichs dived on him.

“...Everywhere!”

Sheamus stood still, unable to process what was happening. In the span seconds, all of his men had been transformed into copies of Friedrich and were beating the crap out of each other. He would’ve jumped in himself, but he had no idea which was the real one. “You motherfucker!” he roared, his stony face twisting with rage, “Stand still! **Command V: Rocket!”** He summoned a yellow red magic circle and ran through it, increasing his speed until he became a blur.

He smashed into the crowd, sending Friedrichs flying with cries of pain, slowing down with each impact and whirling around, trying to find the real one. A flash of green light out of the corner of his eye drew his attention to one of the few still standing, who flinched and stumbled back. “Ah- no, wai-!”

*CRUNCH!*

He closed the distance in an instant and punched him in the nose so hard that he was lifted off his feet and sent flying. The man did not get back up.

“Ah, gotta love good ol’ Miss Militia,” sighed the real Friedrich from somewhere behind him, “Always a dependable comrade. Trickster, on the other hand, well, if there was ever a poster-boy of Bad Life Choices, you couldn’t ask for a more messed up, _stupid_ guy.”

Without even looking, Sheamus dived to the side with speed belying his size, just as a tranquilizer dart flew by him. He dug through his pocket and whipped out his Gaea Memory, clutching it tightly even as he turned his dive into a mad sprint towards Friedrich, who remained standing by a pillar at the back with his gun raised. “Like you’re one to talk about bad life choices! Coming here was the worst decision you coulda made!” With a flare of magic around his feet, he shot across the floor. **“Accel Punch!”**

Before his blow could land, however, there was a blue distortion of air and _something_ smashed into him, knocking him backwards. “I think you just summed up your whole idea for taking over this town, actually,” deadpanned Friedrich, lowering the two fingers he’d flicked out, “At least that armor from before gave me a challenge. With you, it’s just like fighting any speedster; you always gotta rush in for a punch, right from the front. Once it’s blocked, you have no way to keep up the pressure or damage. And there’s one more issue with your speed.” He reached back and punched Sheamus in the jaw. “You speedsters sacrifice all your armor to land a hit. You can barely take a punch!”

As Sheamus staggered from the blow, Friedrich’s brain was already firing on all cylinders. _So his speed is all magic-based, huh…?_ “You know, if you’d gone all out from the beginning, you wouldn’t be having this trouble,” admonished the man, rolling his ringed hand idly, “I mean, by all rights you had me on the _ropes._ No magic, my other stuff not workin’ right, _broken arm-_ Oh hey, I was wondering where you’d got to!” he interrupted himself to shoot the former Minotaur Dopant, who was hiding in the corner, a brief smirk, “Where was I? Oh yeah, so, with that Gaea Memory, you could’ve just-”

The bowler-hatted guild-boss shot to his feet and streaked across the ground with a snarl of fury. “SHUT UP ALREADY!”

Friedrich exhaled through his nose, his aloof expression souring. “I really…” the ring on his left middle finger flashed blue. “Hate it…” the fist heading for his face slammed into a transparent wall, “When people _interrupt me!”_ The solid blue barrier rippled for a moment, even as Sheamus tried to draw back, then _pulsed._ It expanded, the energy ‘thickening’ too fast to see with the untrained eye, and a shockwave _blasted_ out in front of him, bowling his opponent over. Sheamus collapsed to the ground, but before he could get back up, a new rectangular force-field flickered into view and pressed down on his body, pinning him in place. “Now, what was I saying? Oh yeah, the Gaea Memories. With that Shell Memory, you just totally shrugged off my bullets, and I couldn’t use anything bigger on account ‘a needing both hands for ‘em.” He rolled his fingers, ring flashing as he clenched them into a fist. “But, you didn’t finish me off, so here we are. I could definitely do the same…”

Sheamus’s eyes bulged as the barrier pressing down on him suddenly doubled in pressure, forcing a wheezing croak from his lungs.

“...But I haven’t seen everything I need to, yet.”

The shield suddenly vanished. Not one to waste a chance, Sheamus scrambled to his feet and grabbed his Gaea Memory, jabbing it into the back of his left hand.

**SHELL!**

Sheamus growled as he transformed back into Tyrant Terrapin.

 **“You cocky punk! I’m gonna enjoy grinding your bones to dust!”** snarled the Dopant, even as patches of dull, thick black armor grew out of his leathery skin, encasing him entirely. Without an incantation this time, he activated his magic and shot forward, a long, spiralling horn sprouting from his helmeted head. A barrier flashed up, but he smashed right through it without so much as slowing down, roaring with fury…

Right up until a bare fist cracked across his jaw and sent his horn spearing into the pillar next to Friedrich’s head, the invader’s green and blue eyes boring icily into the Dopant’s. “Buddy…you’re not gonna enjoy _any_ of this.” His fists glowed in blue light, the magic ring powering up a circular shield over his fingers. He swung back and struck the Dopant in the chest, sending him skidding back with a small *boom!* of energy on carapace. “You know, people always think of force-fields as a boring power,” he commented idly, “‘Oh, so you can make a shield, big deal!’ Well yeah, it’s not _that_ great of a thing on paper…but that’s why God invented shield-bashing.” He started bouncing on his feet while punching the air, bringing his fists up to his ears. “Well? I’ve got all night!”

Terrapin blinked behind his helmet. _No one_ had ever been so bold as to challenge him to fisticuffs, especially once he’d received his Gaea Memory. His carapace shivered, fracturing as dozens of tiny thorns sprouted all over its surface. **“You’re even dumber than I thought.”**

“That’s my line,” Friedrich shot back. With scarcely a change in his expression, he _punched_ Terrapin in the stomach, his shield ramming into the armor, cracking it severely and sending him skidding back, “I told you before, didn’t I? You’re ten years too late to beat me in a fight!” He shot forward, speeding along with short, efficient steps until the armored Dopant suddenly lost sight of him.

** “Muse Uppercut!” **

With a roaring crash, a whirling disc of energy _smashed_ into the Tyrant’s jaw, slamming it shut so hard that his helmet _cracked_ and his mind momentarily blanked. Friedrich had darted under his line of sight and, throwing all of his strength upward, delivered a devastating uppercut. The force of the blow fractured the Dopant’s shelled jaw and knocked him into the air.

“Hm…” hummed Friedrich, frowning down at his fist rather than following up. His enemy crashed to the ground, splintering the wood floor, “Doesn’t have the right kinda look to it. Too small and neat. Maybe if I…” This time, rather than a flat disc, a swirling aura of a shield flared around his hand in a globe. “And if I destabilize it right there…” A pair of whirling strands of energy spun off the sphere, coiling in a double helix around his arm. “Yeaaaaah…” he drawled, grinning, “There we go!”

Tyrant staggered to his feet, his voice slurring due to the dislocation of his jaw. **“Ffkng bashtrd! Fht’d do to me?!”**

Friedrich blinked. “Lung? Is that you, you ol’ bastard?” he asked.

**“J’ fk ish Lung?”**

“Oh, right. Confused me for a moment there.” The traveller sheepishly rubbed his head. _Parasite, how much longer?_

_ Twenty seconds. _

_Well then, let’s give him a proper send-off._ Friedrich grinned. A glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye made him look down to see his ring glowing. He watched as more designs etching themselves onto the sides, the band widening. “Huh. Well how ‘bout that?” he muttered, frowning.

 **“Ah kll oo!”** Terrapin roared. **“Gommand Fee!”** The shattered shell around his head abruptly reformed, becoming an even spikier helmet, the look in his yellow eyes fully demented. His jaw repaired itself in an instant, while his body expanded and bulked up. Now he towered over the man, looking like something out of a nightmare.

**SHELL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

Billowing energy burst from Friedrich’s ring, surrounding him in an aura of the stuff even as his enemy lunged across the ground at him, howling like a maniac. With a flash of green light, a metal bat appeared in Friedrich’s hand, the barrier aura flowing down its length. Terrapin threw out a blistering, spiky punch, only for it to be deflected by the weapon. Even as his armored fist blew past Friedrich, the man expertly twirled the bat in his hand and swung. Metal struck shell with a loud, clanging bang, knocking his head askew.

...But only for a second, before he righted himself, looking none the worse for wear. **“Weak,”** he growled.

Friedrich’s eyes widened. He dropped the bat and bent double, putting up both arms and a leg to block, while his aura flared. The force-field caved in sharply as the turtle punched into, but then bounced back, flinging Friedrich away. The traveller skidded on the ground, feeling the blow as the pain caused his body to shiver.

_Parasite?_

**“COMMAND V!”** bellowed the monster. Friedrich looked up to see the Dopant glowing brighter. He didn’t bother seeing what would happen next, but expanded his shield out into a sphere around him, the energy flowing about him like fluid, while his ring glowed in ways that it was never made for. Evidently this Maximum Drive was giving him more strength, like with Minotaur. But despite the power, Friedrich wasn’t overly worried.

_ I see… _

Inside his mind, a set of five red eyes flared open.

Friedrich himself smirked.

Tyrant Terrapin’s arms blurred, the heavily-reinforced gauntlets unleashing a torrent of punches at blinding speed. The bubble-like shield curved inward, ripples streaking across its surface as blow after crushing blow smashed into it, the whole thing beginning to deform and destabilize.

Friedrich’s bat, lying discarded on the floor, dissolved into green light and shot back towards his hand.

 **“That won’t help you!”** bellowed the Dopant, rearing back for another punch. He straightened out his fingers, before his gauntlet shell extended and twisted, forming a drill-like point. He thrust the drill forward, trying furiously to drill straight through his opponent's heart. He snarled as once more, the bubble took the brunt of his blow, before popping with a soft, low sound. The armored brute pushed on, seeing red…only to cry out as a wall of force _slammed_ into him, knocking him off-balance. Thanks to his speed-enhancing magic the force of the blow was enhanced by the momentum of his attack.

He tried to regain his balance, but another shockwave rammed his bulky form, followed by another.

“This is a nice little trick you go there,” Friedrich taunted rotating his arm, “But I’ve seen enough of it. You’ve lost. Now to get past that armor.”

** “Command-!” **

** “Command V.” **

Terrapin froze, eyes widening as Friedrich summoned _his_ magic. **“What the hell? What are you doing with my magic, you bastard!”**

A fist, wrapped in a glowing force-field and moving at supersonic speeds, _plowed_ into his chest, _smashing_ a deep hole straight through the armor with a *BOOM!* Pieces of shell went flying as massive cracks spread across his abdomen, leaving him completely breathless.

“Doing? I’m using it,” drawled Friedrich. He pulled out his arm, clenching his unharmed fingers. “Dear god, that’s a lotta armor. Nearly up to the elbow and I didn’t hit the real thing!”

The turtle-like monster howled in pain and horror, clutching at the fist-sized crater that had been gouged out of his carapace. He hurriedly sealed it up, leaping back…only to stop as his back hit the wall.

“Oh, right, the whole magic thing,” continued the trench-coated man casually, “Well, that’s what you get when you keep spamming the same thing over and over. I’ve seen through your whole trick.” A thin, translucent barrier spread across the wall behind the Dopant. “Your armor and speed are impressive, but…well, unless you got something else up your sleeve, I may as well put you out of your misery.”

**“Y-you…!”**

*Bang!*

The barrier behind Terrapin slammed into him, sending him stumbling forward. His thick foot sank into a sticky, bubble-like force-field, unbalancing him, before that too expanded rapidly into a shockwave. The monster screamed as he was smashed up into the air; his armor held up just fine, but he had no way to move!

Friedrich smirked. **“Command V!”** he barked, crouching. With rush of wind, he sprang up and out, streaking through the air towards his opponent. He struck with an open palm, another barrier-shockwave _exploding_ from the blow into the Dopant’s chest, sending him hurtling away. He blurred after him, zigzagging through the air, tiny discs forming to act as footholds as he put his newly acquired magic to good use. He shot down, then sprang up, launching another blast of shield energy into his enemy’s shelled torso and flinging him back towards the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, a bubble formed in his curled fingers, followed by an outer layer, and another. **“Guardian’s Ballista!”** he cried, flinging his new attack upward.

Tyrant Terrapin whimpered in apprehension as the three-layered wave surged towards him. He weakly shielded his face, but it was no use; there was a thud as it collided with him, lifting him all the way up to the ceiling until, with a crash, the wood splintered. The two layers behind it hammered across his whole body, making him gurgle, before letting him drop.

** “Command V: Stagnate.” **

His fall slowed dramatically, just feet from the floor. **“No…no more…”** he groaned.

Friedrich shrugged, touching down lightly. “If you say so. By the way, I had my weapon just a little while ago. Where do you think it went?”

Terrapin blinked sluggishly, his rattled brain trying to comprehend what he’d said. **“Wh...wha?”** he slurred. He thought back to the flash of green light speeding back to Friedrich’s hand. Now that he remembered, he too had to wonder what had happened to the shapeshifting weapon. The ruthless man hadn’t used it, instead just punching that hole through his…chest. **“...No…!”** he rasped, **“S-stop!”**

“Now you get it.” Friedrich grinned. “Don’t worry, though! Your Minotaur buddy managed to survive just fine. All you gotta worry about is a little bit of _complete and total agony.”_ He closed his fingers around the disc that held the shield symbol on his ring and twisted it with a small click. Parts of the symbol shifted about, revealing a red background instead of the original blue, and the shield was reshaped into a sword.

 **“H-hey! What’re you gonna-?!”** The Dopant suddenly seized up a sphere of distorted air appeared around him. He _shrieked_ in pain, thrashing about in midair uncontrollably, before there was a *CRASH* and his carapace _shattered._ As he finally hit the ground, sparks flying from his ruined armor, his chest burst open and a streak of green light shot out, slapping into Friedrich’s hand as a combat knife.

The man stepped forward, his face suddenly stony, while another aura flared up around his hand. This one, however, was red and spiky, flowing down the blade he held and conforming to the edges, extending its width and range. “Just one more thing. That Memory of yours. It’s flawed, but I’ll be taking it for myself. Unfortunately for you, your buddy’s memory blew up when I kicked his ass, so I’m in need of an intact one.” He swung once, and a red line _blazed_ across the floor, carving straight through Terrapin’s waist diagonally and cleanly severing his left arm at the elbow. “Shouldn’t’ve shown me where you first inserted that thing,” he commented, reaching into his coat and pulling out a nail.

With a flick, it shot out, turning sharply to land lightly, point-down on top of the severed arm, while the knife in Friedrich’s hand flashed and transformed into a sledgehammer. He gripped it in both hands, red light spiralling around the head, before rearing back and _heaving_ downward with a shout. The hammer struck the nail with a high metallic *PING!* followed by streaks of crimson screaming across the armored limb.

The carapace exploded off it and vanished, diced into tiny pieces, leaving only a grey, leathery arm. Moments later, that too vanished, dissolving into wisps of smoke and leaving behind a black USB. Friedrich picked it up and observed it. “All of that from this little thing,” he commented, tapping the side lightly with his index finger.

He heard a moan of pain and turned to see the Dopant had vanished, leaving Sheamus on the ground, his arm back in place. He shook his head. “Well, that’s one down. Where’s his buddy?”

“SHEAMUS!”

Friedrich sighed and turned to see the lanky, greasy-haired boss of Naked Mummy standing in the doorway. “Oh, you’re back,” he greeted casually, “Took you long enough. Good thing, too, this guy was annoying enough to fight on his own. And forget about those other goons, they pretty much took _themselves_ out!”

“You…you stupid wannabe hero! What gives you the right to come in here and mess us up?!” shrieked the other man.

“Right?” asked Friedrich, frowning, “If I cared about having the _right_ to kick ass, I would never have become a hero in the first place. I came, I saw, I wanted to beat you.” He cracked his neck, twisting his ring once more. “That’s all I need.”

“I’LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!” roared Ian, his face twisted with raw fury. He ripped open his shirt, exposing the connector emblazoned there, grabbed his Memory and activated it.

**STEEL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

He _slammed_ it into his chest and _exploded,_ howling with rage as molten metal burst forward. As his human form fell away, his Dopant body transformed even further. The steely mask that had enclosed his head split open and melted, transforming into a glowing red skull. Likewise, his chest distorted and reddened, the metal bubbling with sheer heat. His muscular arms twisted and burned, smoke issuing from his sharpening fingers. **“They’ll never find your body!”** he snarled, his voice warped into a metallic, demonic, grating sound, **“I’ll melt you down and make your bones into a new sword!”**

Shrugging his shoulders, Friedrich clenched his fist. “Your funeral.”

 **“GRAAAAAAAH!!!”** bellowed the Steel Dopant, a heat haze billowing off his glowing, melting body. **“You piss me off! You piss me off so muuuuuch~! Metal Make Body!”**

Instantly the metal in his chest and back began to bubble and churn, the red glow shifting to yellow as he doubled over.

At the same time, Friedrich’s nonchalant expression grew more serious. _Parasite. Another one for you._

_ I see it~! _

**“RAAAAAAAGGH!”** Two extra pairs of muscular arms burst from his shoulders, fists clenching. **“Metal Make Body: Asura!”** he roared, taking a wide stance with all thirty of his fingers curled. Then, with a bang and a splintering of burning wood, Steel Grinder charged at the wandering fighter.

His metal arms smashed into the thick barrier that Friedrich raised, raising a chorus of screeches and showers of sparks from six sets of steel fingertips digging into the energy. The man gritted his teeth, holding up both hands to keep up the shield, as even through it he could feel a rolling wave of heat bearing down on him. The snarling, fanged, demonic face of the gang leader snapped at him through the barrier, teeth scraping at it while tiny flames licked between them. He thickened the shield with a thought, but even so, he could feel a tremendous burden weighing down on him.

 **“C-Command V!”** he hissed finally, shooting away backwards. The blue wall of energy shattered into chunks as the Steel monster crushed through it. Friedrich barely got away, blurring with speed as he put distance between the two of them. _Parasite!_

_ Touch him if you want it faster. _

His eyebrow twitched, eyeing the glowing, bubbling metal that made up his foe’s body. _I’m not touching that!_

** “Metal Make Body: Fishhook!” **

The upper two of Steel Grinder’s hands morphed into a pair of wicked-looking hooks, their tips glowing with heat. With a roar, he swung his arms, slinging out his new weapons on a pair of equally bright and deadly chains. Friedrich ducked under the first one and threw himself back and to the side to avoid the other. Even as he hit the ground, the monster leaped high into the air, shaping its lower arms into red-hot blades as it fell with a roar of fury. Lying on the ground with no time to get up or roll to a safe distance, he threw up his hands with a cry, summoning another shield over himself.

His enemy smashed down on the glowing blue platform, cleaving down on it with his blades. **“DIIIIIIIIIE!”** he howled, flames erupting from his mouth.

Friedrich strained under the weight of the hot blades began melting through. _Not good! Need a way out!_ Noticing the blades closing in on him, biting through the shield, he came up with an idea. _As far as insane ideas go, this is on the low side, I guess,_ he thought, sweat beading his brow as the blades inched closer. With how hard he was concentrating on maintaining the shield, it took a few moments to multitask enough to get him in position. Blue energy flared and swirled around, coating his hand thickly in another barrier. _Shit!_ he thought, sucking in a heated breath as the burning metal beast bore down on him, leering demonically, _Shit, shit, shit, shit!_ He gritted his teeth, steeling himself. _You’d better appreciate this…!_

He lunged up, a hole in the shield opening up as he thrust his hand through it and surprising the Dopant. His hand closed over the top of the gang leader’s face, shield bubbling and churning against the heat emanating from the molten metal but leaving his hand unharmed. Instantly Grinder spread his arms and made to grab him in a fatal embrace, but with a bit-out, **“Command V: Stagnate!”** he stopped dead, giving a choked groan of confusion as his metal arms refused to move.

The moment Friedrich’s hand grasped his enemy’s head, there was a stirring inside his body, or at least in a metaphysical sense. The Parasite, a ball of darkness located in his left kidney, opened its five red eyes, gazing out through its host’s vision to see into the Dopant. Within seconds, it unraveled the mechanics of Steel Grinder’s Metal Make Body magic, parsed through it, and realized that the ability to shape his body came not from the magic itself, but from the magic’s synergy with the Steel Memory. _I understand…_

Friedrich grinned as new knowledge drifted into being inside his mind and removed his hand. Steel Grinder. “Heh... _now I get it.”_

The Dopant roared and finally broke free of its stillness, slamming all six of its massive arms together, intending to crush Friedrich, only for him to vanish in another blur of his recently learned Velocity magic.

“Heh, thanks for the magic,” he taunted, “Now I just need to beat you!”

The heated glowing of the monster’s metal body intensified with a snarl as all six of his hands melted into nasty, chained hooks. **“Die!”** he bellowed, launching all six in an effort to snag his opponent. However, Friedrich gave a swirl of his hand, ring flashing, conjuring a swirling vortex of a forcefield that caught and bounced each hook away, making them veer wildly off-course and dig into the various surfaces smoking. Before the dopant could react, the man’s hands flashed into his jacket and withdrew several long nails, which he flung out.

Before Steel Grinder could retract his chains, the nails streaked through the air to drill through the holes in the links, pinning them into the ground, or nearby pillars. **“What?!”** he cried, tugging in vain on the lengths, **“How…who the hell has aiming skills like that?!”**

“I do, that’s who,” quipped the man, rolling his eyes, “Anyway, now that I’ve got what I wanted, I’ll be taking that Gaea Memory now.”

“ **Impossible! Only a Rider can destroy a Memory!”**

“Yeah? Well, I dunno what a Rider is, but I beat both your pals, so I guess that makes me one.” Friedrich shrugged, reaching down to rub his left side. _Parasite. Hit me._

_ Gehehehehe…Rime! Crusader! Prism! _

He grinned as those three powers drifted to the forefront. _Now that’s more like it!_ With a thought, the three powers merged, parts of one power sliding into gaps present in another and fitting together with a metaphorical click. Swaggering forwards, blue mist rolled off of Friedrich’s body, swirling in a line on either side of him before coalescing into six armored knights, all carrying broadswords. With a flash of green light, Friedrich transformed his knife into another sword, lifting it to point at him. “Any last words, you half-made sculpture?”

 **“If only you hadn’t come into town…”** growled Steel Grinder. He tugged on his bound arms, snapping the pinned chains with a flash of sparks and a grunt of pain before reforming his clawed hands.

“You would have probably still lost to those Riders! I don’t know _what_ you were thinking by taking over this town, but really, I don’t care.”

**“Y-you don’t even know those people! For all you know, they could’ve lied to you!”**

Friedrich shrugged, “Who knows. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. Either way, I chose. _I_ will fight for whoever I want, so _I_ will deal with being betrayed, _my way._ I don’t need to think about it beyond that.”

He planted one foot forward with a stamp, lifting his sword to point it at his foe, parallel to his face. Frost spread from his hand down the blade, causing mist to waft from its **“Command V: Passing Cleave!”** he barked. His outline glowed blue for a moment, before he shot forward, so fast that he left behind an afterimage. His sword screamed through the air, steel flashing in an arc as he swung with all his might in transit. The edge bit deep into the Dopant’s metal flesh, steam hissing forth from the glowing, half-melted man. Then, with a blur, Friedrich shot around behind him, flicking his sword with a flourish. Before Steel Grinder could react, the phantoms charged, lifting their own blades silently. One by one, with blistering speed and a tremendous impact, they smashed through him, knocking him to the ground and scoring the Dopant’s chest with cut after icy cut. As Friedrich walked back towards the down creature, the knights fell upon him, dissolving as they rolled over him, one by one. With each absorbed phantom, the man began to glow. “And one more, for luck,” he announced, his sword morphing into a sledgehammer.

With a shout, he hefted the hammer, its head darkening as if a shadow had passed over it. Slowly, jerkily, Steel Grinder attempted to raise his arms and defend himself, groaning and creaking in distress. However, he was too slow, the glow of his metal flesh having died down under the mass of cold strikes that had saturated his body, rendering the steel hard and brittle.

*Bam! Bam! BAM!*

With three rapid, overwhelmingly heavy blows, Friedrich ruthlessly smashed down onto the helpless Dopant, first shattering his crossed arms, then splitting his solid chest open. Sparks flew from the monster’s body, accompanied by an agonized screech of pain. Grunting, the man lifted his hammer once more, a wave of dark coloration spreading from his grip down the weapon to tint it even further. “Don’t worry. This won’t kill you!”

**“N-no…! Stop!”**

But his plea fell on deaf ears; eyes gleaming with an unnerving light, Friedrich drew back his arm, muscles straining as his hammer grew heavier and heavier, until finally…

*SMASH!!!*

Roaring, the man hurled his hammer downward with all his might, crashing down onto the Dopant’s body with an ear-splitting bang. There was an explosion of light and sparks, and an echoing scream of pain as Steel Grinder _shattered,_ scattering in a burst of useless metal shards, the wood beneath him splintering and cratering with an additional *SMASH!* A dark gray USB memory clattered to the ground amid the wreckage.

“There now, was that so hard?” asked Friedrich mockingly, picking it up. He clicked the button.

**STEEL!**

There was a flash of light and the chunks of shattered metal merged back together, reforming into an unconscious Ian.

“I told you not to mess with me,” warned Friedrich, pocketing the Gaea Memory and giving one last look around the wrecked bar, “Honestly…I just can’t fathom how stupid you can be. Even when you’re totally outclassed, the moment you think you’ve got even the slightest edge, you’ll take on a guy who’s way out of your league.” He shook his head. “Ah well...guess we live and learn.”

“That was most impressive.”

 _Holyshit!_ His heart pounded in surprise and he drew several more nails, turning to see who had spoken.

He blinked, momentarily taken aback by the young, slender, pretty white-haired girl who stood across from him, her expression polite, but slightly aloof. She wore a modest T-shirt, colored an icy blue about the chest that faded into white at the edges, clinging lightly to her small, but perky breasts. A pair of white stockings covered her slender legs, leaving a small gap of creamy thighs between them and her navy shorts. Oddly enough, a pair of billowy detached sleeves were cinched around her biceps, obscuring her arms and hands entirely. In his mind, despite her choice in attire she was cute/

Good evening," she greeted politely, bowing, "May I…ask for your name?"

Friedrich smiled tightly, turning to face her while hiding his nails behind his back. After all, there was no telling whether or not she was an enemy. “You can, as long as you give me yours as well. Can’t promise that I’ll remember it, though, if you’re with these…” He waved his hand at the unconscious Ian, trying to pick a word that wasn’t too offensive. _“People.”_

For some reason, this seemed to fluster the girl “I-I…assure you not. My name is Yukino.” She bowed quickly.

Shrugging to himself, the man stowed his nails away and smiled at her. “I see. So, Yukino, what are you after, exactly.”

“I was…in the area, looking for someone to join my- ah, the g-guild that I’m part of,” she said, tripping over her words, shuffling slightly. “We, ah, really value strength, and you seem like a really strong fighter!”

The way that she awkwardly pitched her recruitment made Friedrich smile in amusement. “You assume correctly,” he agreed easily, “What’s the name of your guild?”

Her next words, however, made a shiver run down his spine. “Sabertooth!” she proclaimed, as if pleased to have an easy question to answer. She tugged up her tight shirt, showing off a smooth, flat belly, emblazoned upon which was the mark of a roaring beast.

Friedrich knew exactly what it signified, just as he knew what Fairy Tail was. Sabertooth, if he recalled correctly, did indeed value strength…but very little else, including compassion or mercy. Now that he gave her a look, the pretty lass jogged a memory in him. Unless he was mistaken, Yukino would be excommunicated from the Guild for losing a match in that tournament in seven years’ time.

Of course, he couldn’t say anything like that. Just explaining that he knew the future because he’d read a manga would likely backfire in a big way.

So instead, fighting not to let his displeasure show at the idea of such a cold-hearted guild trying to recruit him, he merely said, “Sabertooth, you say? Hm…well, fighting these guys was fun enough, but now I suppose I have nothing better to do.” She said nothing, prompting him to swirl his hand at her to grab her attention. “Well? I’m waiting. Tell me what I ought to expect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FHG
> 
> AN: (UO) And that’s the intro for Friedrich. Hope you guys enjoyed it. This takes places around the same time that Tower of Heaven takes place. Given the time line its about a week before the end of Fantasia
> 
> NS: In the meantime, this fic will be used to show what he gets up to in between the stuff that happens in Journeys, when he’s not in focus. These first few chapters are to show how he got to this world, who he is/was beforehand and what led up to his cryptic cameo in chapter 16.
> 
> Powers used: The following powers are ones that the Parasite (a manifestation of his Intuitive Replication) has observed, dissected and copied. It has a great deal of powers in its mental collection, but will only let Friedrich use whichever ones it feels like. Unless it copies magic, which in that case falls under his Mysticism.
> 
> All of Friedrich’s powers may be combined, aspects of one power being used to strengthen another.
> 
> Oni Lee: Allows the user to teleport to any point within line of sight, leaving behind a short-lived clone that will collapse into carbon-based ash after a few seconds or upon being hit. Parasite limit: Can only be used four times per 10 minutes.  
> UO: Think Blake’s Shadow ability from RWBY, but with a more durable clone.  
> 2\. Trickster: Allows the user to swap themselves with an object/person within LoS, or any two other objects/people. UO: Closest comparison would be the Kawarimi in Naruto.  
> 3\. Mirrormask: Anyone that the user touches transforms into a copy of the user. The effect also spreads from people who have already been transformed to others that they touch. This only affects the target’s appearance.  
> 4\. Miss Militia: Grants the user a weapon that can shapeshift into any man-made weapon in an instant. Also grants an eidetic memory and no need for sleep.  
> 5\. Rime: Cryokinesis.  
> 6\. Crusader: Creates an army of phantoms in the form of armored knights. These phantoms ignore and pass through non-living material, but can strike living beings.  
> 7\. Prism: Splits the user into three clones, then grants them a power-boost upon them rejoining.
> 
> Magic:
> 
> Barrier Ring: A ring that allows the user to generate force-fields. Capabilities have been greatly boosted by an unknown power, and it can now switch between a Shield (defensive barriers) and Sword mode (offensive energy).  
> 2\. Command V: Magic from the Alvarez empire, which governs control over Velocity.  
> 3\. Metal Make: The user can create metallic objects at will.


	3. A Self-imposed Responsiblity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friedrich finishes his duty to the village and finds out more about Fairy Tail and the mysterious Riders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OSPREY….SWOOSH
> 
> UO: Is it safe to come out?
> 
> Friedrich: Yes, yes, it’s safe.  
> UO: Good, cause I already have a headache dealing with this cold and everyone’s shenanigans.  
> Friedrich: Well, it’s a good thing none of the others technically know about me just yet.  
> NS: Either way, it’s time for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Neither NorthSouthGorem nor UnitedOsprey own Fairy Tail, Worm or any other series that is referenced in this story. Friedrich Holmgardt is property of NorthSouthGorem.

“Speech”  
Text  
 _Thoughts_  
 _Inner Being to Outer_  
 **Monstrous/Transformed state**  
 **Spell/Technique/Power**

Chapter 3: A Self-Imposed Responsibility

“What can you tell me about this Sabertooth?” asked Friedrich, noting how the young girl seemed ready to bolt. _Am I_ that _intimidating or something?_

Yukino bit her lip trying to fight down her fear. “S-Sabretooth is… _one of_ the strongest guilds in Fiore,” she said, keeping her answer honest while trying to sell her pitch, “We, ah, only r-recruit people we think are the s-strongest.”

“And you think I fit your guild’s mold?” he clarified.

“Yes. We’ve found that only the people called Kamen Riders could defeat those monsters? The fact that you could do so without their special powers is, ah…telling.”

Friedrich hummed. “I see.” Internally, however, his thoughts went into overdrive. _Kamen Riders?_ he wondered, _Like that one Japanese series? Wasn’t it related to Power Rangers in some way…? No, that’s not right, but damned if I can remember. Great, and I barely even watched any!_ “Well, suffice to say, I’ve never even heard of these Riders before. But anyway, enough about your guild, tell me about yourself.”

“Me?” she squeaked, tensing up as he gazed down at her, the difference in height between them more than obvious.

“Yeah, what sort of magic do you use? How long have you been in that guild? Those sorts of things.”

She licked her lips nervously. “A-ah. Of course. Well, as I said, my name is Yukino Agria. I can use Celestial magic.”

“Celestial Magic? Bet there’s not a lot of those around,” he commented, eyeing a ring of keys that hung from a loop on her skirt. _I can only think of two others, actually._

Yes...I have five keys,” she explained, pulling them up to show, “The Silver keys aren’t as strong, but they have their uses.” She held up the blueish keys, one bearing a swan in flight where the key head was supposed to be, while the other looked like a bear cub. “This is Deneb the Swan and Polaris the little bear.”

“Oh? Interesting names,” mused Friedrich, “Probably something related to stars, aren’t they? Cygnus and Ursa Minor. What about the golden keys?”

“Y-yes, of course. These are the Golden keys to the Zodiac. This is Libra, the golden heavenly scales,” Yukino indicated a key bearing the familiar symbol over a straight line. Then she pointed at the other, which bore a double-ended trident. “This is Pisces, the Paired Fish.”

He blinked. “Paired?”

“Huh?”

“Why paired?”

“I…I’m sorry?” she asked, cocking her head.

“Isn’t Pisces just the fish? Why is it important that there’s two of them? I thought that was Gemini’s shtick.”

The mage blinked. “I’m…Not sure. But when I summon him, they are always two connected fish.”

“Hm…if you say so,” he muttered, scratching his head agitatedly, “Anyway, you want me to join your Guild, don’t you?”

“Eh? Ah, yes!” answered Yukino quickly, “Being able to beat two of those Dopants-!”

“Three, actually,” Friedrich corrected, making her hesitate in surprise, “I took down one of their buddies earlier today, on my way here.”

The white-haired girl shuffled about, fingers twisting in her skirt as she gathered herself. “Th-that’s even more impressive!”

“Anyway, for now, I’ll have to think about it; I feel like this town needs me more to get them back onto their feet. Afterwards, who knows?”

Yukino raised her eyebrows. “You’re going to…stay and help? But why?”

Friedrich shrugged. “They look like they need help to get back on their feet.”

She bit her lip. “I see. The guild-members would have probably left once they got paid…”

He kept his expression light, but there was no hiding how his eyes hardened. “Well. That’s their prerogative. But I prefer using my power to help people; since I’m strong, I’ll use it how I like. I’m sure the people at Sabertooth wouldn’t object to that logic, would they?” He gave her a thin smile with a sharp edge, making her flinch. “Well…power for the sake of power isn’t such a bad thing either, I suppose.” Friedrich looked to the sky. “Anyway, right now being in a guild isn’t in the cards.”

The white-haired girl’s brow furrowed as she cast her own gaze downward. “Since I’m strong, I’ll use it how I like… Lots of those people would definitely accept that,” she decided, nodding slowly, “But no one’s ever come out and said it like that.”

Friedrich snorted. “Well, you’ve got your answer. Might not want to stick around.”

“Yes…” Yukino glanced away. “I expect I’ll be the one sent out to find you again. Until then, take care.” She gave him a short bow and retreated, vanishing from sight as she exited the building.

Friedrich sighed. _Sorry…but I think I already know the answer to that one._ A grunt underneath him caught his attention. He looked down to see Ian coughing up blood. “Still conscious? Damn, I guess these memories are tough as hell.”

“Why…?” asked the downed man.

He rolled his eyes. “Wanna be more specific?”

“Why…would you protect those…those _sheep?”_ rasped Ian, struggling to sit up, glaring with bloodshot eyes at the man who’d so soundly beaten his gang, “Why be the shepherd when you can be the wolf!?”

Suddenly, Friedrich stilled. “Uh…excuse you?” he asked flatly.

“You…you heard me,” groaned the man, gaining courage as he slowly pushed himself up, “We were just doing what’s natural, making sure all those dopey folks knew who was in charge! A village with no magic in it? They’d have ended up like one of those bastards at Miracle Eye, just you watch!” He leered at Friedrich’s back. “And it’s not like you’re doing any different, coming in and wiping out our guild just ‘cause you felt like it…! What, didn’t want to share the power-?”

*CRASH!!!*

An overwhelming force _slammed_ into the ground beside the man’s head, making him lock up in sheer terror.

Friedrich loomed over him, face mostly hidden in shadow, but there was no hiding his wide, blazing eyes as he slowly knelt down, fixing him with an unrelenting, almost _burning_ gaze. “People,” he said, with bold, clearly enunciated finality, _“Are not sheep.”_ He stood back up, dragging his hammer out of the deep hole he’d smashed into the floor. “Now take your sorry asses and get the hell out of town. If you try to pull this shit again, you’ll regret it.”

A trail of fluid puddled around Ian as he scrambled to his feet, practically falling all over himself to collect his fallen comrades.

“Tch…Wolves…” Friedrich grumbled as he exited the ruined building, “How’s that any better than being a human?” He sighed, only for a familiar voice to catch his attention.

“Did you really mean what you said about helping our town?”

He looked around, blinking, to see the young boy from before, Jason. “Oh, hey,” he greeted casually, “What brings you around here? Don’t you know there used to be a gang of…” Friedrich trailed off, brow furrowing as he tried to think of a good descriptor that didn’t involve cursing, “Y’know what, forget it. Why’d you follow me?”

“I wanted to help. But I saw you kick butt! What were those spells?”

Friedrich sighed, scratching his head. “Kid…that’s a nice sentiment and all, but…sometimes, you gotta know when helping out can be a bad thing. Besides, you already helped me plenty with that ring.” He showed it to him for emphasis. “Well, it ended up changing and becoming fancier, but trust me, this _is_ the same ring.”

“Ooooh!” Jason gasped, eyes shining, “It’s so cool!”

“Jason David Frank! Where are you?!” called the voice of his mother.

“Here’s another bit of advice,” deadpanned the older man, “Don’t make your parents worry.” Smiling lightly, he took off the ring and offered it to the boy. “Here. Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

But to his surprise, Jason shook his head. “Nah, you can keep it. I don’t think I could ever do what you did.” He beamed up at him.

Before Friedrich could respond, his mother swooped in from behind the boy and scooped him up into a tearful embrace. “Jason! My sweet boy!” She cried into his hair. “What the hell are you _doing_ out here?!” “You scared me half to death, running out with those hooligans in such a mood! All those explosions and you disappearing, oh my god I couldn’t bear to lose you!”

“Mooom!” The boy complained, head buried his mother’s modest bosom. Well, modest for this world, at least. If there was one thing that Friedrich remembered about this universe (apart from all the different types of magic) it was that practically all the women in it were _stacked._ Unless they were meant to be cute, but that was more an exception.

His musings were cut short when Mrs. Frank finally released her son and turned to smile tearfully at him. “Thank you so much! What happened to those guild mages?”

Friedrich shrugged. “I fought them, they lost. By morning they should all be gone, unless they’re stupid enough to try again without those weird little…artifacts to transform them.”

“Th-that’s…” The young woman stiffened, eyes widening at his blasé words. “But, what if they come back?!”

He shook his head. “With the beating I gave them, that won’t be happening any time soon. And by the time they do, I have no doubt that those Fairy Tail folks will be able to come help.”

She bit her lip, even as her arms tightened around her son’s shoulders. “I-I see…They couldn’t have been easy to beat. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Hell, I think my arm’s all healed up now. That doctor sure does some great work, doesn’t he?”

Mrs. Frank nodded, smiling. “Regardless, you saved this town and you have our deepest gratitude. I can’t even imagine what they were planning to do next. So, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, nodding in return. At the same time, he thought, _Actually, I don’t think even_ they _knew what they were going to do. They seemed like regular dumbasses to me._ Of course, he elected not to say this aloud.

“If there’s anything we can do for you, please ask,” Mrs Frank told him as she and Jason bowed.

Friedrich rubbed his head, brow furrowed in thought. “Well, I wouldn’t mind spending a couple of days here, get my bearings and rest up. Maybe I can lend a helping hand with fixing up the town.”

“Please stay, you’re our guest. At least let me make you some of our beef stew,” invited Mrs. Frank, motioning for him to follow her.

He only smiled wistfully. _A home-cooked meal. It’s been a long time since someone did that for me._

Jason sidled up to him as they walked. Whispering loudly, he told him, “It’s not actually stew. She just throws bits of meat into a pot.”

“I heard that!” admonished his mother crossly.

Next Day

Friedrich stepped out of the the Franks’ house and stretched his arms out, groaning. The morning sun revealed the rest of the town’s damage; when he’d gone to face down Naked Mummy the previous day, he’d neglected to see the damage to the town. Now that he had a good look at it, he realized that he’d actually gone easy on them. Multiple buildings had partially collapsed, many of their roofs gone as well. With the goons gone, the people now had a chance to survey the damage. He could see that most of them had a look of despair. _Under normal circumstances, they would be looking at months of recovery. Good thing I’m here._ Out loud, he let out a breath. “Geez, those guys really did a number on the town.”

“You sure you can help us?” asked Jason from beside him, “It’s probably gonna take a while, huh?”

Friedrich only chuckled, glancing down at him. “Well, I don’t have anywhere else I need to be right now. Besides, I’ve got more tricks up my sleeve than fighting. Bet I can get this town up in a week or so…” He closed his eyes, tapping his temple with a fingertip. _Construction and Architectural Methods, One Charge,_ he thought, _And set Uber to Carpentry._

In his mind’s eye, a star fell from the sky to strike the crystalline plains, spawning a glowing spire where it landed. As lines of light crawled across its surface, new ideas began to drift into his consciousness, even as the connected power began to shift, providing him with the muscle memory necessary.

 _Now that’s what I’m talking about. Time to get to work!_ Thought Friedrich. He rolled his shoulders and walked over to one of the destroyed houses. Picking up a hammer and some wood, he strode over to a group of workers, who’d congregated around one of the more intact buildings. “Oi! Need a hand?” he called.

The foreman glanced around at him, his beleaguered expression softening when he saw the hammer in his hands. “Yeah, we could use all the help we can get. You good with a hammer?”

Friedrich chuckled, twirling the heavy instrument in his hand with ease. “Right now I am. Where do you need me?”

“For now, we’re just clearing away all the pieces and removing the broken parts that are still attached,” sighed the swarthy man, rubbing his temple, “At this rate, it’s better to just replace all the damaged parts; they’ve been smashed all to hell. It’s gonna cost a damn fortune to get all the materials…”

A sly smile came across Friedrich’s face. “What if I could make all that stuff for free?”

The foreman laughed. “Buddy, if you could do that, I’d pay you for everything!”

He smirked. “In that case, where do you keep your inventory?”

The foreman led Friedrich to a large shed near the river, where they kept everything for the town. He was pleased to see that in addition to the lumber, they had stones, bricks and even materials for mortar. _Alright…got the right stuff for the foundations. But this is still 18th and 19th century tech, so no cranes or steam power._ He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as ideas began to seep into his mind. _Then let’s get creative. This_ is _a world of magic, after all._

The ring around his finger flashed with a blue light. The foreman raised an eyebrow at the ornate piece of jewelry. “You think your magic ring can do everything, eh?”

Friedrich smirked. “Of course not, it’s just a tool; the key is the one _behind_ it. It’s the same with normal construction, isn’t it?”

“Right,” agreed the foreman.

“Good.” He twisted the cap, shifting the designs subtly to reveal red paneling and an embossed silver sword. Red energy flowed from his hand, washing over everything. “Alright, so it looks like everything’s been made, but first we need to make everything the same size…”

Bands of red swept across every side of the timbers, slicing through them with ease, carving them into beams and boards. The builders watched gobsmacked as a blue light surrounded the wood, lifting them into the air and sorting them into stacks that were organized by length and width.

“There we go. Now, let’s get to work!”

The workers whooped in excitement before grabbing their tools and returning to work. With Friedrich lifting the materials all at once, they set to work, pointing out where he ought to set them and hold them in place while rushed to secure them with nails.

With his assistance, what would’ve taken days, even weeks to complete was done in hours. It was also economical, since the builders had no need to hire extra manpower in order to do the positioning.

“Wow buddy, that was amazing!” The Foreman told him patting him on the back. “Kind of wish we had mages in this town. Fairy Tail would probably wreck this town more than it already is.”

Friedrich chuckled. “Yeah they would. But I only just got this ring. Sure, it kinda mutated into…” he wiggled his hand meaningfully, _“This,_ but yesterday I got it from a kid who bought it off a merchant or something. Why _don’t_ you have mages if magic is as easy to use as wearing this?”

The foreman rubbed his head. “Well…the Merchant Guild Love and Lucky kind of made that pointless. Plus, Magnolia is nearby, so if we ever needed mages, we’d just call on Fairy Tail or another guild. Most towns don’t even _have_ a mage guild. Some like ours just have merchant guilds. I really hope we can get that building up and running soon, it’s a big money-maker here.

“I see. I doubt I did that place any favors last night either,” Friedrich pondered, grimacing. _So if Fairy Tail wanted to help, they wouldn’t be far away. But with their recent fight with Phantom Lord, it will take time to get them back to full strength._ “Ah, by the way, what’d you mean by the merchant guild making it pointless to learn magic?”

“We figured it was cheaper to hire out people. Most of us don’t have the skill or power to use magic in the first place.”

Friedrich grunted, scratching his chin. “I can certainly see that thought process holding weight,” he admitted, “But you never even considered using magical items?”

The sheepish looks on everyone’s faces told Friedrich enough. He sighed, shaking his head. “…Fine, I can work with this…is there at least a library that has any stuff on magic?”

One of the workers led him over to the wreckage of the Love and Lucky guild. Despite the destruction, the guild’s modestly-sized library was intact. Apparently, Naked Mummy hadn’t bothered looking through the basement for some reason. “Love & Lucky’s got a lot of connections, I’m sure they got something related to magic down here.

Friedrich grabbed one of the books and flipped through the pages. His eyes quickly scanned them, glancing over the index. “Hm...I’m sure I’ll find something.”

The worker hummed. “Why’re you helping us anyway?”

Friedrich didn’t even look behind him to answer as he put the book away. “Those Naked Mummy guys tried to pick a fight with me. I’ve been fighting guys like that for a real long time. The fact that you guys suffered as well just added fuel to the fire.”

The man shrugged. “I guess. Most of the guilds wouldn’t come to help us without some big price tag. I was surprised that Sabertooth Mage came along.”

“Oh, she was looking to recruit,” he said nonchalantly, “Gave me hell of a soft sell. A lot softer than offers I got back home, at any rate. Now, lessee here…” He picked up another book and flipped through the pages. “Circles…circles…” he muttered, “Gotta understand the magic before I make the rings.” He tapped his temple absently. _Three charges, Magic._

Three more stars fell from the sky to strike the ground, sprouting into an even larger crystalline citadel.

As Friedrich began delving into magical theory, gathering as much information as he could, the crystal landscape of his mind took that knowledge and began to put together ideas…

FHG

He bent over his latest sheet of paper, scratching out tiny symbols along the edge of a circle. “Alright,” he muttered, “Need something simple enough any craftsman can scratch it in, but also draws in the user’s magic to compensate for the lack of inherent magic in the materials.” Friedrich sat back for a moment. “What materials _would_ they use anyway?” he pondered, scratching his unshaven face agitatedly, “Something cheap, but not too fragile…”

FHG

“What do you think, Doc?” asked Friedrich, waving at the plans he’d laid on the doctor’s table.

The older man lowered his glasses to peer over them at the designs. “Well, I’m no magic expert, much less a jeweler, but…this is just remarkable. To think you could come up with such amazing designs in only, what, two days?”

He nodded, grinning. “Don’t mean to brag, _buuuut~_ that’s just one of my specialties.”

The doctor’s eyebrows rose. “Coming up with this kinda stuff? How have you not gotten sponsored by the magic council already? If you can design things like this so easily, then you would be raking in the jewels.”

“Because I’m not a big fan of bigoted, closed-minded government officials,” grunted Friedrich. His mind drifted back to his time in the Protectorate, when all of his designs and ideas had to be run by a committee of several different scientists. Any of his more radical stuff was never even allowed to be put into production, even when he’d designed them specifically to be mass produced. Director Piggot’s bias against Capes had not helped his feelings on the matter. “That, and since I’ve been on the move, I haven’t had reason to come up with anything. No materials to make this shit out of, after all.”

“I see…So what are these rings supposed to do?”

“Well, I figured that it’d take way too much resources to just come up with one that could do everything like this one,” he explained, indicating his own ring, “So instead, I came up with a bunch of different rings with different purposes. One is used for lifting and moving objects telekinetically, another for cutting them precisely, and one for producing various binding agents.”

The doctor nodded. “So mostly for construction, then? I see. I don’t suppose I could ask you to create some for an old doctor like me?”

Friedrich tilted his head in thought. “Hmm…well…just off the top of my head, I could do something about those glasses of yours. Anything else…well since you’re a doctor, any equipment I could come up with would need a LOT of time. Longer than I intend to stick around for, most likely.”

The older man sighed, nodding slowly. “Worth a shot, but thank you anyway.”

The world traveler nodded and lifted his blueprints, rolling them up. “Now to give these to the right people and let them do the rest.”

“You’re not gonna see it through to the end?”

“Don’t need to,” he said, shrugging, “I designed these so that other people could understand and make them. Might as well let them get used to the process without my help.”

FHG

“...And you point the ring like so,” said Friedrich, waving his ring. A wave of blue light poured from his hand to engulf a pile of haphazardly placed logs. In an instant the wood began to levitate and arranged them into neat stacks. The kids in the crowd were awed at the display, cooing in amazement. At the same time, their parents silently nodded contemplatively at the potential for such an item.

“Now I’ll demonstrate how easy it is to use. Jason why don’t you come up here?” He asked the boy who had been a tremendous help to him.

As the young boy sprinted up to him, Friedrich noticed the boy’s mother’s nervous expression. “Don’t worry, he won’t be in any danger. All of these rings are specifically made so that they won’t harm people.” He then took a silver ring and placed it in Jason’s hands. “Magic is all about your imagination. It’s as much a part of you as your arms and legs; I don’t wanna just say, let it be an extension of yourself; but really, it’s something that you just gotta do without thinking too hard about it.”

Jason nodded and faced the pile, slipping on the ring. He took a deep breath. “Okay...magic...is a part of me. Let it flow.” He raised his ring and pointed it at the pile in front of him. The ring glowed, and a weak, faint aura of light appeared around a nearby rock, making it slowly wobble and rise into the air.

Friedrich chuckled at Jason’s dumbfounded look. “Not bad for a first try. Magic is not a force of pure good or evil; it’s all the intent of the caster. Keep practicing, and you’ll get stronger, that’s all there is to it.”

Jason nodded happily. Before Fried could continue, he was swarmed by the kids, all clamoring for rings of their own. Some of the parents, who were watching the show crowded around him, many of them begging for a ring at a reasonable price. The traveler could only laugh as they scrambled for more. “Alright, relax!” he said, raising his voice and his arms to address the adults, “So, I’m not only gonna demonstrate how to use them, but also on how to make them. You’ll never have to worry about being without magic again!”

This only made the cheers louder and added to Friedrich’s headache. He had a long night ahead…

FHG  
Five Days Later (Day After Fantasia Parade) Mid-Day

Friedrich was quietly hammering away at his task. The town chipped in to help rebuild it, it left him with not a lot to do. Out of boredom, he’d decided to tinker around with some leftover wood. A momentary whim and a spent charge allowed him to envision methods to craft the most detailed sculpture possible with little effort. With the amount of skills he had acquired over the years, he used some of the leftover material to create. No concrete subject came to mind, so he just went with what felt natural, peeling off thin shavings of wood and stone with thin red tendrils, letting his mind wander. Slowly, various patterns began to take shape, meaning nothing but still giving the misshapen chunk of wood an eerie appearance.

As he carved on the wood, his ears picked up one of the workers speaking animatedly with someone. Glancing around absently, he saw a group of three people, two boys and a girl asking the man something. The taller male had tanned skin and brown hair, wearing a black muscle shirt and green shorts. His face was unusual, in that his eyes were narrowed. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought he was Asian. Also standing out was the large poleaxe strapped to his back.

The smaller, bespectacled boy was more focused on seeing what the town was doing for recovery. He wore a grey T-shirt and black shorts. Friedrich spotted a pair of sais hanging from the sides of his belt, making him raise an eyebrow. _Since when would a kid like him want a weapon like that? Especially around here?_ On the back of his neck, he could see the white markings of a guild stamp, but Friedrich couldn’t quite make out the details.

The lone girl, however, stood out, mainly because of her pale complexion and freckled face. Her mid-length hair looked well-maintained and well-combed. Yet looking at her body, hidden by a dark blue cloak, especially her chest, he could tell she wasn’t from around this area. She had the build of a healer, as evident by the blue staff on her waist. She also dressed very conservatively in clothes suited for the warm weather; with a knee length skirt, blue t-shirt, dark leggings and dark boots.

The way they all carried themselves made it clear that they’d seen more than their fair share of action. He also noted that the weapons all seemed worn, but well cared-for, which was further evidence to him that they knew what they were doing in a fight. However, Friedrich was more focused on their conversation, even as he kept up his whittling.

“Hm? Oh yeah you're the mages from Fairy Tail. I _should_ be upset that you didn’t show up, but I heard ya had yer own problems.”

“We are really sorry, again,” Max pleaded, “If we had known, we could have passed this onto the Riders.”

The middle aged man shrugged. “Don’t matter, Friedrich came and whooped those monkey asses!”

“That’s exactly what we want to talk about,” Tori told him. “You saw the fight, or at least the aftermath right? Can you tell us?”

The man scratched his head. “Didn’t see the fight, no,” he grunted, “No one even knew about it ‘till it was over, though there was an awful racket from the merchant guild-hall. Either way, whatever he did, those chumps bolted like a bat outta hell. I _did_ see this pretty young thing talking to him while pinning down the boss, looked like one of you guildies. Whatever he said, she left disappointed.”

Friedrich snorted. _Disappointed? She looked happy to get out of here._

“Did he do something for you?”

“Oh yeah. Made my life easier chopping down and moving logs. This ring’s cost me a pretty penny, but damn they life a lot easier. Those anti-magic guys don’t know what they are talking about.”

The worker nudged his head down the road. “Sure, last I saw him, he was over at the Doc’s place. Just down the road, can’t miss it. Name’s Friedrich Holmgardt.”

Friedrich, who was sitting just across the street, had to stifle a laugh, but just kept carving.

The girl nodded. “Alright, thank you. And good luck with your recovery; if you need help, we can pitch in.”

“No problem. And don’t worry missy, we’re in good hands.” The worker waved them off as they walked down the road.

 _Well, if they’re looking for me, I might as well see what they want,_ figured Friedrich. He stood up and meandered in their direction, keeping his eyes on his current project even as he continued listening.

“Story’s been consistent everywhere,” mentioned the taller boy, “I doubt the whole town got together and came up with this story.”

“That means this Friedrich Holmgardt can take down Dopants without the need for Tsuki’s power, possibly stronger than the council,” the younger boy pointed out.

The girl hummed. “I don’t think it’s an S-ranked mage. Matter of fact, it sounded like this Friedrich wasn’t a mage or at least one affiliated with a guild.

“So what do we do now?” Max asked.

“Drew said this was primarily a scout mission. Find that person and talk to him. If we wanted to recruit him, we would go back and bring the others.” She sighed. “Really wished we had a GPS. There are several towns around here, are we sure we have the right one?”

Friedrich stopped for a second, staring unseeingly at his carving, but then forced himself to keep walking. _GPS? No_ _way that a mage from this world would know what a GPS is. So how would she know…? Aww, hell, am I in a fanfic?! Great, I guess I’m the overpowered OC, then._ He thought about that for a moment. _...Works for me._

“That is if another guild hasn’t scooped him up,” commented the darker man.

 _Well I guess it’s time to stop eavesdropping,_ thought Friedrich. “It's not like they haven’t tried,” he called out, stopping them in their tracks. They turned towards him as he stepped forward.

The girl walked up to him; of the three, she seemed to be the most diplomatic one. “Friedrich Holmgardt, I presume?”

He smiled tightly. “Who wants to know?”

The girl smiled and did a short bow. “I’m Victoria Annabeth Spalina, but you can call me Tori.” She waved her arm to indicate her companions. “This is Max Maple and Brock Slate. We’re mages from Fairy Tail, investigating the rumors about someone single-handedly defeating several Dopants on their own.”

“Not that I doubt your story,” he said carefully, “But I’d like to see your marks, just to make sure you guys _are_ from Fairy Tail.”

The three nodded easily. Brock lifted up his shirt, Max turned around and showed his neck and Tori raised her skirt to show her right leg. All three had the recognizable bird like emblem.

Friedrich smiled at the confirmation. However, his thoughts only churned even more forcefully. _Not only is this a fanfic, but it’s a damn crossover! I know Brock and Max are from Pokémon, of course! Does that mean May’s here too? Then where’s Ash? If Brock’s here, what about Ash and Misty? Did they get pulled into this world too? But what about Victoria? Maybe a future season that I never watched? Eh, whatever._ He sighed, scratching his head.

“Um, Friedrich?” asked Max, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You alright?”

The world traveler shook his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. So! How can I help the famous Fairy Tail guild?”

“We heard about someone taking down Dopants that weren’t affiliated with the Kamen Riders,” Brock explained, “Either the person was really strong, or the Dopants were stupidly weak.”

Friedrich grimaced. “Definitely the former, almost broke my arm on the first one. He was a Minotaur, moved fast and hit like a truck.” He placed his carving on the ground and reached into his back pocket, pulling out the intact Shell Gaea Memory. He watched their faces morph from skepticism to amazement at the intact memory. “This one I got off of his buddy later on. I got another one as well, but I’d prefer to keep them if you don’t mind.

Brock took the Memory in his hand almost reverently. “This is incredible. Whenever a Rider defeats one, these are broken and useless. How’d you do this?”

The mysterious man grinned as he took the memory back. “We all have our secrets, just like you three.” He watched them for any reaction and other than a small twitch in Tori’s eyes, they betrayed nothing. _Oh, they are good. But they’re definitely hiding something._

Just then, Max spotted the carving on the ground and picked it up, examining it. “Oooh, what’s this?” he asked curiously

Friedrich glanced down at the carving. It hadn’t taken shape yet, but it had some basic features, mostly various groups of nonsensical symbols, dug into it. “Oh this? Something to keep me occupied. Don’t know what it’s gonna be, if anything.”

The younger boy moved the block around. “These symbols look cool. Wish I could do things like this. Dawn, Tori and May are the artists in our group.”

Friedrich hummed. “Right, well that takes talent I suppose.” Internally, he processed the new information. _That confirms May from Pokemon. But who’s Dawn? And it still doesn’t confirm Ash, but it looks likely._ “Anyway, you still haven’t told me what you wanted from me,” he pointed out absently.

“We were mainly curious about what happened to the Dopants.” Tori explained. “Now that we know about you, we’re gonna bring this information back to the guild. Hopefully, we can get someone else to talk to you about the fights.”

“So, you’re just going back to Magnolia?” he asked, eyebrows rising incredulously. _They’re not gonna pursue the investigation? That’s…pretty lax. Though they_ did _say someone would come around for a word. Maybe it’s for the best at the moment…_

“Yeah, if we leave now, we can probably be back before sundown. Especially with your Arcanine, Tori,” Max pointed.

Friedrich nodded only nodded along with this information. Inside, however, more questions came to mind _Wait…she has a Pokemon? The hell’s going on?_ “Alright then, you guys take care. Might go to Magnolia myself soon, so maybe we can meet there.”

“Sounds good.” Brock said and with a wave. Tori summoned her Arcanine, which was much larger in real life than Friedrich had imagined. The three visitors hopped onto the large dog and raced out of town.

The man stared after them, slightly nonplussed. _Well. That happened._ Shaking his head, he picked up his carving and got back to whittling, forming red tendrils from his ring to shave off more pieces. _Looks like it’s just about time to move on. Wonder if I should head to Magnolia soon._

Before he could think further, Parasite’s voice cut in. _Hunch._

 _Trying to tell me something, huh?_ He groused, even as the Thinker power slid into place. _Then why not give me a better power? Just ‘cause you’ve got that one doesn’t mean that-_

**_Danger red departing blood three soonsoonsoon_ **

The chunk of wood clattered to the dirt floor as he stumbled, grunting and pressing a hand to his head. “Uuuugh. Fuckin’ vague precog power…” he groaned, “I get it already! I get it. Okay.” Drawing in a deep sigh, he retrieved his unfinished carving and straightened up, turning to head back into the village. “Looks like I gotta ship out as soon as _now…”_

FHG

Friedrich finished hugging Mrs. Frank as she thanked him for his efforts. Jason pouted as the traveller rubbed his head. “Do you have to go so soon?”

“Yeah kid, something came up. If I don’t hurry, those Fairy Tail mages are gonna wind up in some serious trouble.”

“Huh?” the boy cocked his head. “What do you mean? How do you know that?”

“I looked into the future!” responded the older man, grinning, “Though it wasn’t a very _good_ look. What I just told you is pretty much all I know.” His smile dimmed. “Chances are, those guys were Kamen Riders. Call it a hunch, but they knew an awful lot about Dopants.”

“Will you be alright?” asked the mother, “If they _are_ Kamen Riders, then whatever could put them in danger might be too much even for you!”

His grin returned full force, blue and green eyes flashing. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If there’s any way to learn what’s going on around here, it’s with them.”

Mrs. Frank nodded. “Alright then. Stay safe, Friedrich.”

He chuckled, waving to them as he stepped out the door. The moment it closed, however, he sighed and turned his eyes skyward. “If only.”

An explosion was heard in the distance. Friedrich glanced in that direction. “That didn’t sound good. I hope I’m not too late.” He took off running down the road, the villagers spotting him and parting to let him through. They all saw the serious look on his face and new that slowing him down would not be a good idea.

At the speed of his sprinting, he reached the edge of the village in minutes. As he passed through the gate, he called on his recently learned magic. **“Command V!”**

Instantly the world melted into a blur as he rocketed forward, practically flying down the path. Trees and rocks whipped past as he quickly tried to catch up to the three mages. As he sped past, he saw several trees, either destroyed or with their bark slashed up by some weapon. He knew that whatever was coming up, there was gonna be a fight. Finally, he reached a clearing where he thought he saw the explosion. What he saw shocked him: three armored figures up against a black and red dark knight. The fallen figures had multiple pieces of armor missing, evidence of either a curbstomp or a long fight. _So these are the Mysterious Kamen Riders. But what about their opponent? Why is one Rider fighting three?_ The light blue Rider was holding up a shield while at the same trying to heal the downed gray Rider. The black diamond Rider slammed his axe down to break up the ground and batted it towards their opponent, only for the winning Rider to simply raise her blades and hack through the earth with blinding speed, not even leaving a scratch on them.

“HeHAHAHA! How in the world _did Glenn lose to the likes of you!_ ” taunted the standing Rider. The Rider was short, at least compared to her opponents. Their armor was a dark red, almost crimson, with black streaks that imitated flames. Their helmet had the appearance of a bat. From the small rise in pitch, Friedrich could tell the Rider was a girl, probably a young one.

“You think that…Glenn could fight us…as we are now?” The lone fighter asked desperately Friedrich recognized voice, even with the mask distorting it. _That’s Brock. That would mean that the other two are Tori and Max! I knew they were Riders!_ He thought, _Then who’re they fighting?_

The standing Rider brought the blades to the mouthpiece. Her helmet opened up, allowing her to lick the blood-stained steel, shuddering at the taste of it. She then blinked out of existence and appeared behind the three heroes. Underneath them, a blood red ritual circle shimmered into existence, making the Riders scramble to escape.

“I hope the rest of you taste good, _when you DIE!”_ she declared, snapping her fingers. The circle glowed ominously, before bursting into a dark red mist. All three heroes screamed as their armors shattered from their bodies. Even from this distance, Fried could tell that could have been fatal normally. Now that they were fully exposed, Friedrich could see more wounds, some of them deep and bleeding. “This bitch is damned sadist,” he muttered. Gritting his teeth, he reached into his coat to grab several nails. Concentrating, he felt the forces present in the air gather together, forming ethereal, invisible rails that led from him to the mysterious girl. At the same time, he tapped his temple. _One charge, medicine. Three charges, weaponry._

The victorious Rider strode over like a prison warden as the mages struggled to stand. She grabbed Tori by her neck and dragged her up to eye level, squeezing hard to choke her. “You know, _torturing you_ is its own reward.” She held her blade up to the girl’s neck. “But, _that won’t send a message_. A dismembered head, _or three,_ on the other hand…~!”

Tori coughed. “You’ll regret this…”

“Hm... _Nope!”_ The Rider grinned and pulled back her weapon. As she did so, Friedrich observed the execution weapon with a calculating eye. It was a crescent-shaped thing that she held in a reverse grip, running back along her forearm. The flat side was carved with a tangle of thorny vines, which seemed to glow unnaturally. “Looks like _this generation’s Riders_ didn’t pan out after all~!”

Even as the blade fell, Friedrich whipped out his nails and threw them directly into the lines he’d made. There was a low *BOOM!* as the electromagnetic fields seized them, causing them to instantly accelerate to supersonic levels. The nails streaked through the air, tracing curves of light as they followed the trails.

The first one smashed into the Rider’s weapon, knocking her hand away and making her stumble with a grunt of surprise. Even as she reacted, the second one drilled into her shoulder with an ear-splitting crack and a flash of sparks. Instinctively she ducked the third one, letting it scream over her head, but that only opened her up for the fourth one, which crashed into her diaphragm. With a choked off cry of shock and pain, she was lifted off her feet and sent flying back several feet to land in a heap.

Tori dropped to the floor, trying to keep herself breathing. She looked up to see Friedrich striding towards the group. “Actually, I think she had the right of it,” he told the armored sadist, who was already climbing to her feet, “You _won’t_ be getting away with this.”

“Friedrich…” the girl choked out.

He looked down see her reaching for him. “Hang on, Tori. I’m gonna see if we can patch you up.”

“Heal…heal them…first!” she gasped out, pointing at Max and Brock.

Friedrich nodded, turning to the other two. Both boys were covered in deep lacerations and bleeding heavily. Judging by the massive gashes on their limbs, he wouldn’t have been surprised if their tendons had been severed. Blood pooled on the ground around them in a large radius He took a deep breath, ruthlessly squashing the horror that bubbled up in his stomach. _Don’t suppose you’re in the mood to let me have Panacea, are you?_

_ Two minutes. _

_Thank you._ He walked over to the injured boys and knelt down, grimacing as his coat trailed in the blood, and grabbed their forearms. “I can’t recover the blood, boys, but I can stabilize you enough so you might not need a transfusion. Lessee here…” The moment he touched them, Friedrich received a full mental readout of Max and Brock’s biology. The full extent of their injuries was made clear to him; they had all been inflicted with the intent to cause maximum agony and debilitation. Between one heartbeat and the next, he began to knit the cuts back together, skin, muscle and even bone rejoining without so much as a mark left behind, while the most freshly spilled blood was reabsorbed into their arteries. He straightened up, grimacing at the blood left on his hand. “And there we have it. You're gonna be okay.” Brock who briefly woke up during the healing, smiled and fell back unconscious.

He turned to Tori and placed his hand on her head. She had gotten it the worst; several ribs were broken and a couple were close to puncturing her lungs, more than likely because she was important to their group. “You're gonna be fine. Let me fix you up, and I’ll take care of this bitch.”

“Who are you _calling a bitch!?”_

“You know, you’re right,” he said, nodding, “Bitch was _far_ more human than you.”

The Rider faltered. “...Eh?”

Friedrich glanced her way even as he set about repairing Tori’s wounds, and noticed that her weapon, shoulder and chestpiece were completely intact. “Hm... So that armor is even tougher than I thought. Those shots aren’t something even a Dopant can shrug off and there’s not even a scratch on you.”

The Rider laughed maniacally, something in her voice told him she had more than a few screws loose. “You got that right. _A Dopant wouldn’t_. But a Kamen Rider _Can deflect anything you can come up with_!”

Friedrich raised an eyebrow. “Kamen Rider, huh? Aren’t you supposed to be good guys? You know, defending the weak?”

His opponent scoffed. “Please, _you would think I waste my time saving people?_ All they are _is food for by blades!”_

A blue-glowing fist crashed into her chest plate, throwing her back. “That’s all I need to hear,” grunted the man, taking up a stance with his hands flattened out, “If these guys were fighting someone like you, then I can defend them without worries.”

The Dark Rider grunted. “What can you do? _You’re just a human!”_

“I may be a human, but this human beat _three_ Dopants, something only a Kamen Rider could do,” he revealed. His ring glowed, a blue aura flaring around his fists. “Wanna see what I learned from ‘em?”

“Who the _hell’re you?”_

Friedrich grinned as his fist glowed. “Just call me a man that fights impossible odds.”

She growled. “No matter what you’ve got, nothing of human-make can pierce my armor! Try as you might, _you won’t kill me!”_

He twisted the ring, making it and the aura around his hands flash red. ”Good.”

The Rider leaped at him, blades crossed in front of her and her eyes glowing with bloodlust…only to cry out as a latticework of scarlet light slashed across her armored body, causing sparks to erupt all over her, slowing her momentum to a halt. Then, as she hung there, momentarily helpless, Friedrich leaped forward, his fingertips stabbing deep into her gut. With a *BANG!* she screamed and was blasted back, sparks bursting from her stomach to skid along the ground in an undignified heap.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself,” continued the man, “My name is Friedrich Holmgardt. Remember it. I’ve no doubt you’ll be cursing it to your heart’s content, _once I’ve sent you packing!”_

FHG

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And here is where the story joins with the main Nakama narrative. This story will diverge at several points to show what Friedrich gets up to when he’s not in the spotlight. For the full fight, read Nakama itself. And review, for god’s sake!
> 
> UO: Seriously, we work our butts off. And we get no respect. Anyway, you want to read beyond this, head over to Chapter 18. The rest of the fight before Friedrich intervened will be there.
> 
> Powers used:  
> Uber: Provides mastery of a single skill. Connected to Inspired Inventor.  
> Panacea: User can manipulate any biomass they come into direct contact with. They cannot generate biomass from nothing and their power does not work on themselves, but they are immune to all harmful bacteria/viruses.  
> Hunch: Precognition, but only provides vague impressions.
> 
> Once more, if you have any questions or comments, please leave a Review or send a PM to UnitedOsprey or NorthSouthGorem.


	4. Rolling around the captial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friedrich joins Team Shadow Gear to deliever News to the capital. When a Dopant infiltrates the Rune Knights barracks, they investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NS: Alrighty, now we gotta jump forward for a bit. If you wanna know what happened between last chapter and this one, read the latter half of Nakama United, Chapter 20 through 22.
> 
> UO: For a time frame this is two days after Chapter 22

“Speech”  
Text  
 _Thoughts and Flashbacks_  
 _Inner to outer_  
 **Dopant/Rider/Super form**  
 **Skill/Technique/Magic**

Chapter 4: Rolling Around the Capital

August 21st X784, about 12PM

Friedrich leaned his head against the train window, idly watching the countryside roll past. _Not even three hours back and I’m already on the way out again…_

Flashback

_“So let me get this straight,” Makarov began, addressing the gathered group. Other than sheer exhaustion, they looked fine. Friedrich hovered in the back, unsure of what he should do. “You not only found that Captain Skyler was not only supplying these drugs, but was also building these ships that could outclass anything our military_ and _our magic can produce.”_

_“Correct,” Drew answered, nodding, “The drugs destroy people’s lives, while the ships are technology that’s at least two centuries ahead of anything here. Yuzan must have a lot of money and materials to create them.”_

_Makarov hummed. “Something like this should be brought to the attention to the King. But considering that you just recently went through such an ordeal, I believe its best to wait until you’re back to 100%.”_

_“I’ll do it,” said Friedrich, raising his hand, “I didn’t really spend too much stamina and I don’t sleep much anyway. I can relay the information.”_

_Looking around the office, he could see that decision was a sound one to everyone in the room. Makarov nodded. “Very well. As it happens, Team Shadow Gear has a quest in Crocus. You can accompany them. The rest of you, take the next day or so to recover. You earned it. Dismissed.”_

_The team quickly dispersed from the room. Drew grabbed Friedrich’s shoulder. “If I were you, I’d get one of the other Riders to go with you. Call it added security.”_

_Friedrich hummed in acknowledgement as he scanned the guild hall. One thing he noticed was the lack of the Aura Team. “Yo, where’re Ash and his…lot?”_

_Cana stopped her drinking long enough to answer. “Max and Brock took a mission out of town. Ash is with Anabel and May training, and Misty and Dawn haven’t come in yet.”_

_Friedrich sighed. That meant most of the Riders were unavailable. Then he snapped his fingers as he remembered one more person. “Oi, Gajeel! You up for a mission?”_

_The iron dragon slayer looked around as the man called his name, and grinned. “Unlike Salamander, I didn’t get a chance to show my stuff. I’m more than ready.”_

_“What was that?” growled Natsu, only for Drew to grab him._

_“No, you’ve already done enough. Use today and tomorrow to get back on your feet,” He ordered. He glanced to the side at Lucy and Erza. “Or perhaps spend some time with your ladies.”_

_Natsu grumbled, but one look at his partners and his face brightened as they beckoned him over. Taking their hands, he rushed out, with Lucy screaming at him to slow down and Erza giggling like mad._

_Gajeel tsked. “Those three act so lovey dovey, it makes me want to vomit.”_

_Friedrich snorted. “Now watch as you do the exact same thing when you find someone.”_

FHG

Present

“Friedrich?” Levy’s voice cut through his musings.

He turned away from the window, blinking. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Just wondering if you were hungry, we’re still a couple of hours from Crocus.”

Friedrich hummed. “Depends on what you got.”

Levy took a seat across from him. “You know, before Drew and his friends came to us, we never heard of different worlds. I always thought Fiore was big. But the way you speak, we wouldn’t be the largest country on your…old homeworld.

Friedrich nodded. “Correct. 17 Million is about the number of people in our country’s largest urban area. And that’s spread out among three different states.”

“Was what Drew said true?” She asked.

“I dunno, what’d he say?”

“That you’ve been to the moon? That you have technology that can find things in an instant? That you can cure diseases?”

“Ah, right,” he said, nodding slowly, “Yes to…most of that. Though I come from a time that’s a decade ahead of his. Technology only got better, especially on the communication front. We’ve got ways to talk to people in real-time on the other side of the world. I remember when a friend of my mom’s talked to her mother in Israel, when we were still in the US. That’s our country, of course.”

Levy’s eyes shone in excitement. “Your country sounds so cool.”

Friedrich grunted. “We have our moments, some good, mostly bad. Just remember, not everything is black and white.” He glanced over her shoulder, causing the bookworm to follow his gaze to the dragon slayer seated a little way down the car. “Sometimes all you need is the right person to bring it out.”

Levy’s face turned slightly red at his teasing smirk and turned back around. “Um…what are you going to do in the capital?”

Friedrich reach into his jacket and pulled out a file folder. “Makarov wants this delivered to the king. It’s stuff from our previous mission. I dunno if I’m supposed to keep quiet on the details or not…how big are you guys on confidentiality with your missions?”

“Most of our missions are normally translation stuff, with some combat mixed in,” Jet spoke up, “Levy here’s a genius at translating runes. So if you got something to tell us we can keep a secret.”

Friedrich shrugged. “Alright then, take a look at these.” He handed the files to Levy, who put on her wind reading glasses. Instantly the papers flipped by, all of them turning over in only a few seconds. “Oh yeah, I forgot those were a thing…damn, I really want a pair of those. They hard to come by?”

Levy didn’t answer as she scanned the files. Her eyes went from to curious to surprise to horror as she read the detailed notes and pictures. When she finished, she slowly took her glasses off. “What the heck…is all of this?”

“Those were weapons and illicit substances found in our world,” answered the man simply, taking the file back, “As it stands, the ones from that area are completely out of commission, but I don’t think anyone who was there believes that was all of it.”

“What do you mean?” Droy asked.

“I mean, Captain Skyler was a distributor, which means that someone had the means to give it to him in the place. In addition, if they had a navy, there are definitely ground forces and possibly air forces. We need to warn the military and probably the monarchy directly.”

The three mages nodded in agreement at the addition to their mission. Two hours later, the train pulled into the station, freeing the team of five. Standing aside to let a gagging Gajeel stumble off the train, Friedrich gazed out over the city in curiosity. It was large for a medieval town, with many stone and wooden buildings grouped close together. _Seems like a fire hazard,_ he thought. Standing out in the middle of town of was a large brown stone castle that reached several stories tall.

“That’s Mercurious, the home of the Fiore Royal Family. It is one of the tallest structures in Fiore,” Levy explained. “Though I doubt it compares to some of the buildings your world has built.”

Friedrich scratched his cheek unconcernedly. “Well, different places are gonna have different standards, so comparing them isn’t that important. Anyway, is our job there?”

“No, we’re going to see the Rune Knights. They found something in a recent expedition that needs translation.” She explained as she led the group a more upscale part of town.

As they walked, Friedrich scanned the townspeople they passed. While there was the normal smiling faces among the populace, there was an underlying nervousness and tension, and everyone was sticking close to each other.

“You notice it too?” asked Gajeel.

“Yeah, something’s got the populace spooked,” replied Friedrich, frowning, “Reminds me of Acalypha Town before I liberated it.”

“What’d you do there?”

“Some guild got a hold of three of the Gaia memories and basically ruled the town. I liberated it and that guild of those. I think they’re hiding something.”

They eventually reached the Rune Knights barracks. It was a smaller castle settled near the upper class district. _Huh,_ realized Friedrich, _Kinda looks like Central from FMA._

Levy walked up to one of the white armored guards. “My name is Levy Mcgarden of Fairy Tail. I was requested for a mission along with my mission,” she explained, handing one a note. One of them motioned them to stay put while the other went to get their leader. Moments later, the guard returned with a new person, a slim man with his black hair pulled back in a small ponytail. He was dressed in a light blue robe with a matching cape.

His serious demeanor softened at seeing Levy. “Ah, Ms. Mcgarden, how are you doing today?”

“Captain Lahar! I didn’t expect _you_ to come meet us!” exclaimed Levy. She waved her arms behind her. “You know my team, Jet and Droy. Also with me are Gajeel Redfox and Friedrich Holmgardt. Guys, this is Captain Lahar of the Rune Knights Custody Enforcement Unit

“So you’re a cop?” asked Friedrich.

Lahar cleared his throat. “Policing does fall under our purview but we’re more about capturing dangerous mages. Come with me I’ll show you to the scrolls we want you to translate.”

The group of five quickly followed the captain into the barracks. As they walked, they all noticed that the knights regarded the group with some trepidation. Eyes narrowing, Friedrich sped up to walk alongside their guide. “Alright, what’s going on? Everyone here is on edge, like the civilians in town.”

Lahar closed his eyes in resignation. “I must admit, you came in at a bad time. You see, the last two weeks or so, some of our officers were attacked and left in a coma.”

“A coma?” Gajeel asked. “You guys are supposed to be the toughest people outside our guilds. What could knock someone out like this?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Lahar admitted. “We have some suspicions. Rumors are suggesting this is the work of those mysterious Dopants.”

Friedrich hummed. “If there’re no other possible explanation, that seems pretty likely. If it’s been happening to your men one by one, then it’s probably not an illness. Speaking of which, I’ve got a file for you to take a look at.”

Lahar glanced around the hall. “Not here, we can talk in the library.” The group picked up their pace and headed towards said library.

An hour of explaining everything to the captain, Lahar was holding his head in shock. “This…goes beyond small scale attacks.. This feels like an invasion!”

“It is. However there is no way this was all of it. My guess is they got a base somewhere else and we can’t find it yet.” Friedrich theorised.

“If this is true, then the king must be informed,” Lahar concluded. “Do you have reason to believe someone got a hold of these…Gaea Memories and are targeting the Knights?”

“Yeah. Someone must have a grudge to go after you stuffies,” grumbled Gajeel, only to be smacked by Levy’s handbag.

“Gajeel knock it off!”

Lahar paid him no mind. “Look, I only paid for your guild to do some translations, but, we don’t have a time frame for when they need to be done. I’ll give you permission to look for whatever is causing these incidents. Just stay out of trouble. Heaven knows more than one person wants your guild disbanded.”

“You make that sound like we’re only known for blowing stuff up, gihi,” chuckled Gajeel.

“Your reputation precedes you, unfortunately. Anyway, take as long as you need to. Feel free to talk with some people about the expedition that found these.” Lahar ordered before leaving briskly.

“So what do we do now?” Droy asked.

“We investigate, starting with infirmary. If they are all officers then we might be dealing with a serial criminal,” Friedrich told him. “Gajeel come with me.”

The dragon slayer grunted and followed the traveller. “What do you think we’ll find?”

“If we’re gonna figure out how to stop this, we need to look at the victims. That’s how these things normally start.”

“And that means the infirmary. I can smell it from here,” Gajeel told him, leading him down a hallway. They found a door with a green cross with guards posted in front of it.

As they approached, the guards crossed their weapons over the door, barring their path. “Halt! State your business!”

“We’re here to examine the latest victims of the recent attacks and to try and figure out their source.”

The guards glanced at each other for a moment, brows furrowed, before addressing them. “You may enter, but surrender all weapons beforehand.”

Shrugging, Friedrich pulled out his knife and handed it over, while Gajeel reluctantly surrendered Redemption and Condemnation. One of the guards nodded and pushed open the infirmary doors.

The room was quiet with the nurse trying to make the injured comfortable. Three women and two men were laid up in bed, completely motionless, their eyes wide open and staring.

“Well…they’re definitely not just sleeping,” Gajeel observed uneasily.

One of the nurses noticed them and frowned. “All of them were found like this. From the look of them, it seems like they got caught in a scuffle, but no one else was noticed nearby.”

Friedrich approached the bed closest to them. Scanning the mage’s body, he noticed something dark imprinted on his forehead. Peering closer, he realized that the man had been tattooed with a square of ones and zeroes. A quick check confirmed that each victim carried the same mark, albeit with different numbers. “What are these all about?” asked Friedrich.

“These?” the head nurse pointed at the tattoos. “They all have them. Someone wanted them to suffer. But why attack them like like this?”

 _It wasn’t anything physical,_ Friedrich realized. _Whatever was attacking them was stealing something in their minds. But what could they be?_ “I see. Do they have anything particular magics that would make them dangerous?”

The nurse waved her arm to the man on the bed. “Jason here could manipulate matter and cause explosions, Cherami’s skill with a rapier is well-known even in here. Colleen could stretch her body into various shapes, Victor could transform into birds and Brittany specialized in healing magic.”

(A free cookie for those who can figure who I’m referencing)

Friedrich hummed. “Right. I guess that would make some sense. Those are some pretty abilities if used right. I’m guessing that they did, if they were prominent figures in the Rune Knights?”

The nurse nodded. “They were all ranked officers, though not terribly high up.”

“Mmhm…that tells me that whoever targeted them would’ve been an equally low-ranked combatant,” he muttered, mostly to himself, “Otherwise they would’ve been more confident in taking on someone stronger. Well, at least it’s a starting point; thank you.” Nodding appreciatively, he turned and walked out of the room, Gajeel following behind him after retrieving their weapons.

“So, anything else stand out?” Gajeel asked.

“Some. The zeroes and ones tell me that whatever attacked these knights had to do with data. Information. Just spit-balling here, but given the state those guys ended up in, it could be that their knowledge was downloaded out of them.”

“Down…what?”

“Right, wrong time period. On our world, we have these things that can store massive amounts of information. In book terms, it’s printing a book into a new, blank one and taking it for yourself. Well, not exactly like that, but close enough. In this case, whoever took that data most likely has access to their skills.” Friedrich paused. “Well, that guess is a bit shaky, but we might as well be prepared for that to be the case.”

“And the comas?”

“The feedback probably was too much for their minds and they knocked themselves out to prevent their minds from snapping. That, or there’s so little information left that all they have is basic involuntary muscle memory to stay alive.” The man took a deep breath, his expression darkening. “If it’s the latter, then someone’s in for a world of hurt.”

The two mages reached the library to see it a complete mess. Books and papers were strewn about and Levy looked ready to snap. Evidently, the book worm had spent a lot of time fruitlessly scanning the books. “This stupid scroll makes no sense!”

“What’s wrong?” asked Friedrich.

“These stupid words!” she slapped the table, careful not to touch the parchment stretched out in front of her. “They look like they were written with a mirror! Everything is backwards!”

Friedrich raised an eyebrow and walked over to peer at the scroll, only to deadpan. “Well no wonder you’re having trouble; you’re not reading it correctly.”

Levy blinked “Huh?”

“Yeah, I know this language. Not the meanings, but I know how to read it. You don’t read it left to right, you read right to left.”

“Right to left?” Gajeel asked confused, “What kind of writing does that?

“First off, plenty. Second, the language is Hebrew, the language of Israel and my religion, Judaism. This is the language our texts are written in. Can you write these down?” He asked Levy.

He cleared his throat and pointed at the first word. “Okay… _“In the time before our time, Seven Angels descended on the Land of Fiore. Blessed with Divine energy, they sought to teach those with similar gifts to protect their land in their stead. When the time came to pass on their mantles, they declared only those who passed a test of worthiness shall unlock untold power. The Seven Angels created Seven temples, one for each Warrior. The-”_ Friedrich broke off, eyes widening. _“The Tundra Wolf sits atop the Mountains of the Snowy Sun. The Soaring Eagle nests in the Forest of the Ruby Trees. The Fisherman’s Ship shall be found in the Forgotten Ocean. The Two-Faced Swan lies on an Island Beyond the Horizon. The Dove of Renewal sleeps in the Jungles of Protective Beasts. The Starry Princess sleeps under the Oasis of Seven Waterfalls. The Dragon Prince awaits in the Earthen Mines.”_

Levy finished writing it and sat back in her chair. “What does all of this mean?”

“It’s talking about Natsu’s group. Look, Tundra Wolf, Soaring Eagle, Starry Princess, Dragon Prince…those are all their epithets. The Seven Angels might be their previous wielders.”

“What about me?” Gajeel grumbled.

“You’re there, as the fisherman. I think. It could be something similar, but my knowledge of Hebrew ain’t the best. Only one I don’t get is the Dove of Renewal. Might be a clue to whoever the last Rider is. Even then, we probably won’t get it until they’re revealed.”

“And these temples?” Jet asked.

“Beats me. Maybe Drew and the others will know,” said Friedrich, scratching his cheek with a shrug, “The way they’re described sounds like a clue to their location. I mean, Snowy Sun? Oasis of Waterfalls? Sounds like the usual cryptic riddles that make total sense once you figure ‘em out. But, y’know, I’m no good with this world’s geography.”

“Right…so, did you find anything about the attacks?” Levy asked changing the conversation.

“Just that the victims all had strange tattoos. Something or someone wanted their knowledge through any means.”

“Considering that the Rune Knight captains are some of the strongest mages in Fiore’s employ, their magic must be really strong,” Levy deduced. “They would be perfect targets for anyone wanting to steal knowledge”

“So how would we know who else would be targeted?” Droy asked.

“Every military should have a record of who’s in their ranks. Their names, their families and in this case their magic,” Friedrich explained, “So we need access to the archives or their records.”

As if sensing their thoughts, Lahar reappeared with a, “How are you all doing?”

Levy’s face brightened. “It’s going well, we believe we’ve found a new language and it’s possible that’s why the scrolls couldn’t be read correctly. Friedrich here helped translate this one.”

“Incredible!” Lahar exclaimed astonished, “A lost language that no has even heard of before? This is amazing! Do you mind if I make a copy of these when your done?”

Friedrich glanced at the scroll in Levy’s hands. “I…don’t think so, not all of ‘em, at least. But we might have a lead on the other thing you want us to investigate.”

“You do?” asked Lahar, suspicion showing on his face at the inquiry.

“Yeah. There are gonna be more attacks if we don’t stop this. We need to figure out a list of potential victims, which means we need a list of what the attacker wants.”

Lahar hummed. “Its normally against policy to allow someone that close to these records for obvious reasons. But if they are using them to target our men, then we need to know who else is at risk. Come with me. Leave the scrolls, they aren’t going anywhere.”

The group of five followed the captain out of the library and down to the end of the hall. Opening the door, they heard someone run into the door. Looking at the person on the ground, they saw red headed man in a plain gray military outfit. He had been knocked down and lay sprawled on the floor, a large welt on his forehead as he groaned.

Levy gasped. “Oh my goodness, are you okay?”

The man rubbed his head and glanced up to see the script mage hovering over him. He blushed slightly. “Y-yeah, I’m f-fine.”

Lahar sighed. “This is Squire Sora Mickelson. He recently came on as a recruit, one of our brightest mentally. Sadly he’s not up to taking outside missions yet.

Even as he spoke, Sora scrambled to his feet, saluting hurriedly. “Captain Lahar, sir! I didn’t expect you here! Is there something going on?”

Lahar waved his hands to the team of five. “These fine mages are investigating the recent attacks on our Squad captains. They’ll need access to our records to figure where the culprit might strike next.”

“Anything to help, sir. Whoever this is needs to be brought down!”

Lahar nodded and glanced at the mages. “Take your time and please don’t destroy anything. There are records going back hundreds of years.” The captain left the group to their advices.

Sora looked nervously at his new companions, bobbing his head. “Um…hi there, I’m Sora. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, I’m Levy, this is Jet, Droy, Gajeel and Friedrich.” The boys all grunted or waved to him.

“So, what are you trying to find here?” Sora asked.

“We need to keep this investigation under wraps, bookworm,” Gajeel grunted.

Levy smacked him across the back of the head with a small scowl, before smiling at the man and explaining, “We’re looking for people that might be targeted for their magics. So, we need to search all the captains and squads.”

Sora nodded eagerly. “Right, let me show you to the relevant files!” He quickly dashed over a bookshelf and pulled over a ladder.

“Do you have this place memorized?” Friedrich asked intrigued.

“Kind of. I’ve been here two months,” Sora said climbing the ladder. “It helps that I have Mind magic, really helps with the filing.”

“Oh yeah?” asked Friedrich, grabbing one of the scrolls Sora handed down. “What made you want to join the Knights?”

Sora paused in grabbing a book. “I…want to raise money for the orphanage I grew up in. Even if I don’t make it to a squad, I want to feel useful to the military. I mean my Mind magic isn’t so useful in a Guild right?”

“Maybe you just need the right one.” Levy offered helpfully. “I’ll admit, my magic Solid Script isn’t the most glamorous, but in a pinch it’s helped our team a lot.”

Sora smiled weakly. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ms. Levy.”

“So what can your Mind Magic do?” Friedrich asked

“I can scan things and memorize what they are. It gives me almost perfect recall,” Sora explained proudly. “Not so good at fighting, but numbers and paperwork? I’m your man!”

“Photographic memory.” Friedrich hummed appreciatively. “It's definitely a useful magic for your line of work. But even your thinking is one dimensional. You could use it to develop your repertoire further than most mages.”

“Really?” Sora asked excited.

“Friedrich here got all of us to expand how we use our magic,” Gajeel explained. “He thinks you can expand it to incorporate other things to your nerd power.”

Sora looked away. “As much as I want to, there are so many more powerful mages. Not to mention people with more money.”

“You do realize talk like that can make you a prime suspect as well, right?” Friedrich pointed out.

“What!?” everyone gasped.

“The captains are in their position due to skill and more than a few jewels passed around. You being a low ranked soldier, plus access to the archives puts you in a spot many will exploit to see this come to an end.”

“You think I attacked them? No way!” Sora denied, waving his hands desperately, “I was still here on at least two of the nights. And despite what some of the other Captains think of me, Cherami and Victor are my friends. I would never attack them!

Friedrich sighed as the young man flailed about animatedly and dropped a book. “Yeah yeah, I know you’re not him. Otherwise, you would have tried something right now. Plus I don’t see the device that creates these monsters.”

“You…know what creates these things?”

“They’re called Dopants. We’ve fought several before; if we’re gonna stop the next attack, we need to know _who_ the target is. We should narrow it down to people with particularly potent magic and those with promotions in their sights or recently got one.

“Why those three?” Droy asked.

“Cause whoever is attacking these people might have a vendetta against them,” he replied, shrugging, “It’s the only lead we’ve got for now.”

For the next few hours, all of them pored over the books, looking for anything that would attract a Dopant. Most were dismissed for having too low magic to be worth anything, not in the age bracket or were rank and file workers.

Levy sighed and cracked her neck. “I didn’t think our military was that large.”

“Our military is much more complex and larger. You would not believe the work that would go into firing a tank round,” Friedrich grunted, “So, we have our four potential victims.” He said holding up four pieces of paper.

“Matthew Joestar,” Levy read the first name, “Squad Lieutenant, fast track to captain. Potential to be a Colonel…Comes from the Joestar family… Manifests spirits from tarot cards to aid him in fighting.”

“It wouldn’t be him,” Friedrich replied. “It’s a family thing, which means that there’s no way he could’ve gotten a Gaea Memory, as they only started showing up recently.”

“Right. Also, he’s never picked on the lower ranks, something he drills into his squad,” added Sora.

“Next is…Piccolo Sabat. Martial artist, use Ki based magic.” Gajeel pointed at the paper.

Friedrich blinked, opened his mouth, paused, and closed it again. _I’m starting to think someone’s fucking with me._

“Possible, but he might sense the attacks. Also he’s still in the enlisted ranks with a promotion exam scheduled soon,” Sora pointed out.

“Then we have…Armin Grelle. Tactical genius. He’s only been here a few months, but he’s been talked about getting an officer commission,” noted Jet, glancing down at the page in front of him.

“Last is…Stephanie Clyne. A healer, specializes in shield magic. She’s been promoted twice in the last three years.”

“So who would be the target?” Droy asked.

Friedrich hummed. Of the four potential targets, three were mages. Looking over the list again, he made a decision on who to protect.

“It’s Stephanie. Her shield magic would add defense to their repertoire. None of the others have defensive magic.”

Before they could continue, they heard panicked screams. They rushed out of the room and down the hall to where the sounds were coming from. They eventually found a training ground with multiple knights sprawled out unconscious and covered in cuts and bruises.The group looked up to see a blonde man in a brown jacket wielding two swords desperately fighting the intruder. The creature a lanky green monster with a large, round, dark blue and green crystal for a head, inside of which gleamed a multitude of eyes. Its body was a dark purple, with glowing knobs across its chest and red stripes lining its torso.

 **“HAHAHAH!”** cackled the Dopant in a mechanical voice, **“You think _you_ can lead anyone? You can’t even beat me, Globemaster!”**

Levy gasped. “It’s the Dopant! We need to help them!”

“Way ahead of you, shrimp!” Gajeel told her, slipping on his rings as he ran.

**RAISE ANCHOR!**

“Henshin!” he shouted, flipping his belt face plate and thrusting his grey ring over it.

**ARGO! SETTING SAIL!**

Now clad in his pirate armor he pulled out Condemnation and fired a shot. The bolt briefly staggered the dopant and caused him tumble back.

 **“What the…YOU!”** the Dopant snarled pointing at Argo marching across the field, Friedrich in tow.

“Yeah, me!” Argo answered. “You’re looking at your worst nightmare, punk!”

 **“A Kamen Rider!”** Globemaster growled. He glared down at Armin who was holding his stomach. **“I’ll deal with you later!”** Turning his head towards Argo. He growled. **“You’re a little far from Magnolia, Rider.**

“Yeah, well we go where we’re needed,” Argo grunted.

Lahar. who had been watching the fight from the sidelines, gazed at the black clad Rider. _So that’s a Kamen Rider. The Magic Council have it out for them for some reason._ He narrowed his eyes at Levy and her group. _Its strange though, they only show up where Fairy Tail is involved._

Before Globemaster could continue, Friedrich whipped a long nail out of the inside of his coat and hurled it at the Dopant. It vanished with a crack and the monster yowled with shock and pain, reeling back as the spike smashed through the front of his round head.

“You think you can take me?!” Friedrich boasted.

 **“So what if you can hurt me. The knowledge that comes from all you Rune Knights shall be my saving grace! Here’s a little something from that rubber girl.”** His right arm extended out of his elbow much to everyone’s surprise. He snapped it behind his shoulder and flung it forward. **“Jet Bazooka!”**

The arm snapped towards Argo at a rapid pace. He cross his arms and grunted as the fist pushed him back. “That the best you got? Have some of this!” He raised Redemption, sending a powerful current through it. **“Iron Dragon’s Lightning Cutlass!”** He fired off a powerful electrical wave at the Dopant. To their shock, the Dopant took the hit, the lightning dancing across his flesh harmlessly.

 **“HehehHAHA!”** Globemaster laughed. **“Your magic is no match for mine. I have taken the knowledge of all my victims and made them my own. That Rubber magic is pretty handy against a Lightning- OOOF!”** His tirade was cut off by a metal pole rammed into his stomach.

“How about some blunt force?” Argo growled.

“That’s…not gonna work fully,” Friedrich grumbled, as the pole was bounced back from the elastic dopant.

 **“Blunt force won’t work on rubber, you fool!”** taunted Globemaster, bending and stretching his body bizarrely.

“It’s not like rubber doesn’t have downsides!” said Friedrich, deadpanning, “Levy, cool him off!”

“Right!” called the bluenette **“Solid Script: Ice!”** Raising her pen, she drew the word in the air, turning into an icy blue. Then she flung her arm at the ground, the word blurring and flattening even as it whitened. Frost spread out from the word, shooting across the floor and coating the ground under Globemaster’s feet. Caught off guard, the robotic Dopant slipped on the ice before toppling onto his back and, unable to stop his forward momentum, crashing into several boxes. “Well that’s one way shrimp,” Argo joked, getting her to pout. Before anyone could react, the boxes exploded.

**“Grr…Persistent I’ll give you that. But with the magic I’ve acquired, I will be unstoppable!”**

Friedrich deadpanned. “Seriously? You’re like a three on my threat radar. You’ve gotta be the most inefficient power copier I’ve ever met, and I’d know! I’d let Argo here handle it alone, but I want your Gaea Memory intact.”

 **“You’re not getting mine!”** snapped the Dopant. **“I bought these fair and square!”**

“…These?” The man’s eyes narrowed. “You got more than one Gaea Memory in there?” Slowly, Friedrich grinned widely, making everyone around him back away, and cracked his knuckles. “Oh, _buddy._ Now I _gotta_ get a look at ‘em!”

Globemaster sweated at the hungry look in his eye. **“NO! I only got one Memory! All the magics were taken from the Rune Knights!**

“Pity,” Friedrich sighed, “You really ought to learn the difference between one powerset and another. For instance, this is magic. **Command V.”**

He vanished from the Dopant’s sight, only for a foot to suddenly smash down on his back, slamming his round head into the floor again. “Now…tell me where on your body you inserted the Memory.”

Instead of answering, feathered, raven wings burst from Globemaster’s back. **“Never!”** As he flapped his wings, the wake was powerful enough to knock Friedrich back.

Even as he stumbled back, the monster shot up into the air and streaked out the door. Before he could use his speed magic to run after it, the doors slammed shut from the slipstream. “Damn it, I was so close to getting another one!”

Lahar approached the two carefully. “So, you’re the mysterious Kamen Riders. I must say, I never expected someone like Levy or yourself to be associated with them.”

“Yeah well, there’s more to this than meets the eye,” Friedrich told him, “We need to talk to Armin. Can you get us a private room and tell as few people as possible what we’re doing?”

Lahar nodded and walked over to the fallen Knight and helped him up. “Sergeant Grelle, are you okay?”

“Yeah, but damn it, he ruined my exam!” Armin grumbled. Friedrich frowned and tilted his head, filing those words away for later.

“Your wellbeing is more important than your exam. The fact that you stood up to something even captains have a hard time fighting will be a credit to your promotion. Come, we’ll discuss what happened in another room.

Armin nodded and headed towards the infirmary, the Fairy Tail mages in tow. When they got to the room, Lahar turned to the mages. “I presume you know something about these…Dopants?”

Friedrich nodded and pulled out the files from the Skyler mission. “Yeah, we’ve had more than a few run-ins with ‘em. Not only that, but they’re involved in some pretty bad shit.”

Lahar looked at him skeptically and took the files. A few minutes of scanning the notes later, he clenched his fists, teeth gritting as his anger simmered. “Captain Skyler was a decorated officer, but for him to fall so far as to deal with these types of weapons…abhorrent. And these narcotics would have ruined Fiore within weeks. The King must be told: _this_ is a national crisis. Rest assured, if you can solve this issue now, I will be your ally against the Magic Council if they ever turn against Fairy Tail. Now, I believe the only weapons that can consistently destroy these things are…Kamen Riders?”

“Correct, something that only a few of us can become,” Levy explained, “Most of them weren’t available, Gajeel here was the only one ready to travel. However, I think Friedrich and him are enough to take this one down.”

“Considering the weak energy the guy was giving off, I share your confidence,” Friedrich told her. “But I’m more concerned with saving the Memory, which means I should be doing some of the damage.

“But we can’t stop this, until we know who we’re dealing with,” Gajeel pointed out.

“Indeed,” Lahar concurred. He turned to Armin, who had been bandaged up. “Can you tell us about what happened?”

Armin looked down at his bandaged arms. “I was sparring with one of the trainers, it was one of the final parts of the exam to determine if I was going to be promoted.”

“A trainer?” asked Friedrich, “Who?”

“Colonel Ackerman. Nice man but a bit gruff. He’s trained most of us in the advanced course.”

“It wouldn’t be him,” Lahar explained. “Other than the fact he was on a mission for the first four attacks, he was the one who struck first against Globemaster.”

The man nodded. “Alright, that rules him out.”

Sora raised his hand. “Um, I might have an idea.” Everyone turned to him and he blushed. “It might seem silly now, but Victor and Cherami were gushing about a promotion exam two days before they got attacked. Now that I think about it Jason just got promoted as well.”

“Once is random, twice is a coincidence, three is a pattern,” realized Friedrich. He glanced at Lahar. “What about the other two?

“They all got promoted because of their skills and recent tests,” the Knight gasped, “That means we are looking for someone passed over or mad at their success.”

“So, how do we narrow it down?” asked Droy.

“Lahar, what’s the class structure like?” inquired Levy, “And the promotions, how do they work?”

Lahar hummed. “There is typically a three year program for officers, where the Knights are trained in different roles or just general studies. Depending on how they do in their classes and the needs, they can be added to the ranks. The five victims plus Armin were part of the advanced class, most of whom are already in line for Captains and Majors.”

“What about the enlisted men?” Friedrich asked.

“They are afforded the same opportunity to become officers but they must test into the school or get a recommendation from a senior officer. Most enlisted don’t rise higher than Sergeant.”

“That narrows it down. Probably someone who was overlooked,” postulated Levy, “The question is how do we draw them out.”

Friedrich hummed, his eyes fixing on nothing as he though. “What indeed?”

Armin raised his arm. “I have something. My attack occured because I got selected for a promotion. Everyone in the barracks knew I had it today. Maybe if another promotion were to occur, we could draw the perp out.”

“There is one issue though, the next person eligible for a promotion won’t be ready for at least two months without a field promotion.

“But the person doesn’t have to know that.” Gajeel pointed out. “We just need the bait.”

Everyone slowly turned to Sora, who felt everyone’s gazes and started to sweat. “W-Why is everyone l-looking at me like that?”

Next Day

Sora gulped as he stood on the training field, waiting for his tester. “A-Are you sure this will work?”

“If there is one thing I know about the barracks, is that nothing gets their interest like gossip,” Armin told him. “It will get to the person we need.”

“B-but why me? I’ve got nothing to contribute to him.”

“But our foe doesn’t know that,” Friedrich pointed out. “Whoever is stealing this is only interested in promotions. Which means he’s jipped about something.”

Sora nodded and held up his sword shakily. A few moments later, Gajeel, who was sitting behind a crate of of spears heard footsteps coming from the building. “We got incoming.”

“Any idea who?” Levy asked.

Lahar watched the only entrance to the courtyard. Out of the doors came a lanky blond-haired man in a grey knight’s uniform. “Hikaru Frandring.”

“Hm?” Friedrich grunted.

“Hikaru Frandring. He is the son of a local Count. However, he’s never been promoted.”

“Does he deserve it?” Levy asked.

“No, at least when it comes to missions. He was due for a hearing into his promotion soon,” Lahar revealed, “But his conduct wasn’t the best. Back Talking superiors, harassing some of the recruits, that sort of thing.”

Hikaru approached the trembling record keeper with a cocky smirk. “Sora Mickelson, what a surprise. I didn’t think a homeless cur like you would be officer material.”

“W-what can I say? I think I impressed some important people.”

Hikaru frowned. “But that’s the thing. Why would lowlifes like Cherami and Jason get promoted? They’ve never done anything in life to get their promotion.”

“That’s not true. They’ve done so much for the Rune Knights,” Sora defended.

“Not that, you dumb orphan! Their families!” Hikaru snapped, “Their families are not important in the grand scheme of things. They’re all commoners! They contribute nothing.”

“Are you serious!? demanded Sora, suddenly snapping straight up, his stutter gone, _“They_ do all the hard work! And those that enlist willingly put themselves in danger to protect everyone, from the orphans to you pompous idiots.”

Hikaru chuckled sinisterly. “You see, that’s where you're wrong. Only the rich should succeed where the common folk fail. With the amount of money our family has, I could have been a captain.”

“If that’s the outlook on life you have, it’s a wonder you got in at all,” Friedrich spoke up, stepping away from his cover, “You folks are the first line of defense for your King, and you’re focusing on status? Get the actual fuck out of here with that bullshit!”

Hikaru noticed Gajeel walking towards him from behind a door where he was scouting the courtyard and scowled at the guild stamp. “You’re from Fairy Tail? Of all the guilds, they sent the most _destructive_ guild here?!” He scoffed in disgust. “Bah! Not a single one has a family name worth licking my boots.”

“Just because we’re orphans doesn’t mean we don’t have family you bastard!” growled Levy. “We don’t abandon each other! We don’t care about where we came from, we’re Nakama! Something you clearly don’t get!”

Hikaru scoffed. “Nakama? Just a gathering of rats too weak to go where they want out of fear.”

“Even a group of rats can bring down countries,” retorted Friedrich, “Just because they’re beneath your eyes doesn’t mean you can underestimate them. Everyone in Fairy Tail could bring you down, you sanctimonious sack of shit.”

His flatly delivered, yet vicious insult made the arrogant knight practically convulse, face twisting with fury. “You dare think a lowly guild is better than me?” Hikaru roared, his body twitching madly.

“Dare?” asked Friedrich, his blue and green eyes flashing dangerously, “You wanna talk about dares? How dare _you_ go around spouting off about money being more important than skill? How dare you insult every single person you work with and not even look one iota ashamed of it? It takes quite a bit to make me wanna hurt someone, but congratulations.” He took a deep breath, looking disgusted. “I now officially hate your goddamn guts.”

Hikaru growled, his hand and eyes twitching like mad. “You can hate my guts, but we know who has the power here!” He plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled out a dark green, familiar USB.

Friedrich shook his head. “I knew it. Only someone as scummy as that would turn on his comrade.”

Sora gasped. “Hikaru what are you doing?”

The nobleman grinned manically. “This little thing cost so much, But it was worth it. By eliminating my competition and taking their powers, I can take my rightful position as leader of the Rune Knights! Then I’ll destroy all the mage guilds, starting with Fairy Tail!

“You’re…the dopant? How could you!” cried Sora desperately

Lahar growled at the revelation. Up until now, he didn’t have a probable cause to arrest him. Now that he had it, he could take action. “I’ve heard enough,” he announced, making everyone start in surprise at being reminded of his presence. He stepped forward and pointed at his soon-to-be ex-subordinate. “Private Hikaru Frandring, you are under arrest for assaulting seven members of the Rune Knights and consorting with known conspirators against the crown! Surrender yourself and we may go lenient on you!”

Hikaru’s temper reached a boiling part. “You think you can stop me!? Think again!” He grabbed the memory and pressed the button.

**GLOBE**

He raised it to the side of his head, where a Living connector appeared, and jammed it into the black tattoo. The energy coursing through his body broke his it into multiple cubes. They broke apart, shifting from humanoid to mechanical before reforming completely into the dopant. **“With the powers taken from my _former_ Knights brethren, I will destroy you all!”**

Friedrich grinned, while Gajeel pulled out his Rider Ring. “Make sure that memory stays intact, I want it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gajeel waved him off, “Just let me get my licks in.”

**RAISE ANCHOR!**

“Henshin!”

**ARGO! SETTING SAIL!**

As the black magic circle descended on the dragon slayer, Globemaster clanked his hands eagerly. **“Such power! When I destroy you, I will gleefully use that to take over Fiore!**

“Over my dead body you punk!” Argo yelled loading up a dagger into Condemnation. **Iron Dragon’s Lightning Cannon!”** , He charged up his lightning magic and pulled the trigger. The hammer came down and fired it at a high rate of speed. It struck the Dopant’s shoulder getting him to gasp in pain.

 **“Damn it! Let’s see you try to get me in the air!”** He shouted. Two black wings sprouted from his shoulder and flew higher. Argo growled and pointed his gun at the roof, before firing its hook the edge of the roof. He pulled himself up onto the roof and fired of another shot. Globemaster laughed as he dodged the shot.

 **“Hehehahah! Such pathetic power won’t stop me!”** He dodged another shot before stretching his arm towards the Rider on the roof. The pirate barely dodged out of the way. The Dopant looked at the ground and grinned. **“You left your friends wide open!** ”

**GLOBE! MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

The Dopant’s head suddenly sank deep into his torso with a disturbing crunch, and then expanded, leaving him as a giant sphere with legs. He dropped to the ground and revved up, creating a wild ball, before barreling towards the mages.

“Watch out!” yelled Friedrich, yanking Lahar out of the way. Jet and Droy dashed away, Jet using his speed to pull Droy after him. Levy tried to run, but her feet slipped on the dirt and she fell with a thud, her he She could do nothing but watch in horror as the dopant barreled towards her and covered her head with her arms.

CLANG!

Levy heard a loud impact and then a grunt, making her peek through her arms. She gasped to see Argo had somehow teleported in front of her and stopped the rolling Dopant dead in his tracks, the ground beneath him torn up from the spin.

“Gajeel!” she cried out.

The Rider grunted, bracing the sphere with his shoulders. “You alright, shrimp?”

“You dummy, I should be asking that!” Levy scolded.

“Gihi, this Rider armor’s strong, it was able to take that Lightning Dragon’s attack. This is nothing!”

 **“Gah! Damn You!”** Globemaster roared, mad having his momentum being cut off like that. Argo grinned behind his helmet before heaving the Dopant up and throwing it away, making him yelp as he crashed and rolled uncontrollably. This allowed Levy to scramble away, while Globemaster.

She reached where Friedrich was as he glanced at his knife. “Can we do something to help Gajeel?”

“Well, let’s think,” he grunted, pulling out his weapon and idly twirling it between his fingers. “What do we need to do to keep him from rolling around. After that, we gotta see how skilled he actually is with all those magics he stole. From there, I SHOULD be able to make _something_ to counter it.”

“He’s been able to fly with those wings and stretch out his arms. But it looks like using his wings takes a lot of effort,” Levy observed.

“Alright, so he’s not great at flight and he’d only use that to make a getaway. But, since he’s been exposed, he’s cornered. He’s not gonna stop until we’re all silenced, before we can tell anyone else.”

Around his left kidney, the Parasite stirred. _…Tattletale._

He blinked, looking down at his side. “…Really? Alright.”

“Huh?” Levy asked confused.

“Nothing. Just…got something good.” Friedrich refocused on the Dopant. “Alright…how’s much is he _really_ packing…?”

Levy watched as Friedrich gazed at the Dopant. He charged back across the field at Argo, waving his spindly mechanical arms wildly and rolling. Being spherical, he was able to use all four limbs to attack, stretching and lashing out with them erratically, making them swivel and slide all over his rounded body. The Dragon slayer grinned as he focused his magic around his body, his armor subtly expanding and shining.

*CLANG!*

The arms struck Argo’s sides, getting a distinctive clang from the impact. Frustrated, Globemaster reared his arms back and attempted to punch Argo again. “Good luck getting through my dragon scales. It can take the heat of a furnace!

 **“Intriguing! It seems there is more to your magic than meets the eye. I will enjoy taking that from you!”** Globemaster screamed reaching to grab his head.

“Over my dead body!” Argo snapped knocking him to the side and firing off another shot.

 _He’s stolen and learned five different types of magic,_ Friedrich mused. _But he’s not using all of them, only relying on Elastic magic. Judging by his earlier attitude, he believes all he needs is strong magic. Strong magic needs a strong will. Different magics need many different mental viewpoints. Does he know that? Possibly. Absorbed knowledge. Magic requires ethernano. He must know that. Gaea Memories give enhanced Ethernano reserves? Unlikely; they were not created in this world and wouldn’t take magic into account. Fact: Gaea Memories distort a person’s mind and cause them to act irrationally._ His eyes narrowed. _Make him angry and exhaust himself. Likely sore about how he can’t use the other magics. Obsessed with being superior. Remind him that he’s not._

Taking a deep breath, he let the power fade away and opened his eyes. “Heh. So it comes down to that old plan?”

“What old plan?” Levy asked.

“Hikaru may have stolen the magics, but he has no skill in using them,” Friedrich explained, grinning, “With his superiority complex combined with the Gaea Memories distorting his emotions, the plan is simple: make him angry by bringing up his lack of skill and he’s gonna make mistakes.”

“Any ideas?”

“Yeah, just watch.” Friedrich told her. He pointed his knife at the dopant and called out, “Hey! Ball-boy!”

The Dopant’s eyes swiveled about under the glassy surface of his spherical head to fix on him. **“You’d better not be talking to me, wretch. Not with _that_ tone.”**

Friedrich scoffed. “Oh, and what’re you gonna do if I am? Show off all the magics you stole? Oh wait! You can’t even use them all. You don’t have the mental fortitude to use them. I guess your family’s money can’t buy experience.”

 **“My family…!”** snarled the monster, **“A peasant like you…doesn’t have the right to mention them!”**

“Get bent,” he grunted back, “If your family is the kind to condone the shit you’ve said, then they’re lower than the mud at the bottom of a well. You said that no amount of skill can make up for being born into the wrong family? Well, too bad you’ve got neither of them, you demented, self-righteous sack of shit!”

**“How dare you speak like that to me!? I bet you won’t be so cocky when you’re as dumb as a carrot!”**

“Better than an amoeba like you, fuckwit!”

 **“Oh that is it! I was saving this for Sora! But now I’m gonna steal everything you know!”** His claws glowed and he leaped at Friedrich.

“LOOK OUT!” Levy screamed. But it was too late, the claws clamped down hard on the traveller’s head. The traveller took the hit with grunt, but stood his ground, glaring back from between Globemaster’s fingers.

 **“Now, let’s see what _you’ve_ got!” **cackled the dopant, his eyes glowing madly. His arms shifted to grip the sides of Friedrich’s skull and lifted him into the air. A spot between his eyes began to glow, before a beam of light shot out, striking the man in the forehead.

Friedrich cried out in pain as what felt like thorny roots burrowed into his mind, digging deeper and deeper. Memory after memory flashed to the forefront, the agony spiking as it then became ‘frozen,’

 **“Heheheheh…I’m gonna take my time~”** The dopant chuckled. Without even looking, a large, broad shield swung out of nowhere, several shots bouncing ineffectively off it. **“You’ll get your turn, Rider.”**

_Lung roared in fury at him-_

_He leaped up into the air, bouncing from wall to wall as blades sprange from-_

_A confident smirk, that goatee, the self-assurance-_

_A fifty foot wall of water-_

_Ideas for a replacement heart, which could keep blood flowing at a constant pace without pumping._

The thorns slowed slightly. **“What…?”**

_Missiles after missiles. A jetpack that utilized hypersonic soundwaves and electromagnetic forces. Guns. Guns. Guns. Guns._

**“What are these-?”**

_Armor that dwelt inside his body. It was alive. Constantly growing, constantly being improved. A Portal to punch through dimensions and find other worlds._

**“What is this?!”** yelled Globemaster, growing angry, **“I can’t understand any of it!”**

Friedrich groaned in pain, feeling like his head was being slowly impaled on a rusty spike. Nevertheless, he tried to focus on the Dopant’s face. “You…an’ me…both…!” he gasped.

**“No, no…these wonders! I must know more! Give me your secrets! Give them to me!”**

_A ball of darkness with five red eyes. So many! I see! I see!_

He smirked, with a great deal of strain. “What, you think you’re the first person to copy magic? As if! You’re nothing but a second-rate hack if you can’t even use the things you steal! I’ve been at this business for ten years! You’re way too early to even think of copying my-!”

_The roots bored deeper and deeper, all the way to the very core of his mind._

_A pair of green eyes glared back._

_ “Get out.” _

With a scream of terror, Globemaster released him and rolled away, spinning and flailing wildly. Friedrich collapsed to his knees, gasping, seeing stars and clutching his splitting head. “Fuck…! Hurts!”

The dopant however looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. **“WHAT…WHAT ARE YOU!?”**

Friedrich’s slowly staggered to his feet, breathing raggedly as his vision cleared, still holding his skull. “I…am Friedrich Holmgardt! That’s the only thing you can get from me!”

Before Globemaster could even comment, Argo was on him, pummeling him into ground. The Rider was having a blast knocking the Dopant round, using his Iron Club spell to smash him into the wall and sending him careening all over the field helplessly. The monster wailed and flailed his rubbery limbs, but now they were ineffective, missing terribly. Then he stabbed the dopant with his knives creating multiple gashes in the glass orb before pulling on his pistol to charge up his finisher.

“Hold it, Argo,” grunted the older man.

The Rider paused and glanced at Friedrich. Globemaster’s head was cracked, his chest was bursting with electricity. The Dopant’s eyes started leaking hydraulic fluid. **“Oh thank y-you! You saved me from this--GAH!”**

Friedrich stamped on him, pinning him to the ground “I didn’t stop him to save you. I stopped him for your Gaea Memory,” he grumbled. He held up his hand and twisted the ring upon it with a click. A red, flame-like aura sprung up around it. “This will hurt,” he announced flatly. Then he _plunged_ his fingertips into the glassy orb, cracking the surface and punching through circuitry, eliciting a screech of agony. He rooted around inside for a moment, until his fingers closed around the now-familiar shape of a USB, then _wrenched_ it out. Looking at it, he nodded in satisfaction at the dark green color and the G emblazoned on it. However, he did not click the button to transform the Dopant back, stepping off and backing away.

“Alright, you can finish him now,” he said idly, tucking the Memory into a pocket.

Argo laughed, pulling out his finale ring held it over his Hand Author. “Well, thank you kindly!”

**VOLLEY! AT THE READY! READY! AIM!**

Argo charged up his gun, creating a large ball of Electricity. “To Davy Jones’s Locker with you!” he announced.

**FIRE!**

** “LIGHTING PURGE CANNON!”  **

He pulled the trigger, sending his magic and Guardian power into the gun, focusing it into a single point. As more power was poured into the focal point, a sphere of energy expanded in front of the muzzle.

 **“NOOOOOO!”** howled Globemaster as the lighting bolt raced closer to his panicking face. The bolt impacted between his eyes and blasted a hole through his head. The opening sparked once, twice, then showered with light. The wound expanded before it glowed and the monster’s body exploded into flames.

“Heh, the seas are mine!” Argo boasted twirling his flintlock and holstering it.

“We’re not _on_ the seas,” grumbled Friedrich, massaging his temples.

Lahar walked over to the explosion site and sighed. “Such a waste of talent.” He muttered placing the handcuffs on the unconscious Hikaru. He turned to the others. “Thank you. But how do we get the magics he stole back?”

Friedrich grinned and tapped his head. “Don’t worry about that. I got it all taken care of.”

Back in the infirmary

Victor groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. “What...What happened?” The memories of his previous attack made him shoot up. “Where is that bastard!?”

“Calm down, Victor,” Lahar told him gently. “The person who did this has been defeated and been brought to justice.

“What about our magic?” asked Victor impatiently.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Lahar explained motioning around the room. All the other victims had been brought back to the waking world and looked none the worse for wear.

“I didn’t think Mr. Friedrich could help, but you look like you weren’t hurt at all!” Sora exclaimed from the other side of the bed.

Victor glanced at him and smirked. “You helped us, kiddo?”

“You and Cherami are my friends,” Sora spoke gently. “I wanted to stop him, but I couldn’t do it alone.”

Victor smiled and rubbed the archivists head. “You did good, kid. The Knights could use more like ya.”

Sora beamed, before heading over to Cherami. Lahar shook his head and left the infirmary. Out in the hall, Lahar pulled reached into his pocket, pulling out a large sack of money. “Here we are, the payment for not only doing your official mission, but also compensation for your contribution in taking down the Dopant menace. On behalf of Fiore and the Rune Knights, I thank you for your service and wish you the best on your future quests.”

Levy took the bag and bowed. “Thank you, Lahar. We’ll be in touch.” The rest of the team bowed or waved then headed out to the train station.

“Gihi, not bad for a book mission,” Gajeel laughed. “You alright shrimp?”

Levy pouted. “Gajeel…” her pout softened. “Thank you.” She turned to Friedrich, “Both of you.”

Friedrich waved her off. “No problem. You helped me more than you know. I got to copy every bit of magic that that scumbag stole, plus I got ahold of a new Memory.”

“By the way…” Jet began. “What caused him to go nuts at the end?”

“Yeah, he looked like he saw a ghost,” Droy chimed in, “We thought you were done for, but something scared the crap outta him.”

The man’s blue and green eyes narrowed. “Ah…something like that did happen, didn’t it? My memory’s not so great after he got too deep into my mind…”

He struggled to remember, but all that came to mind was agony as what felt like roots pierced had pierced his memories. For a moment, it felt like something was there, on the tip of his tongue…

“...Yeah I got nothin’,” he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “Sorry.”

Levy smiled gently. “We’ll figure it out.”

Friedrich hummed. “Maybe. Still, if it’s something that could scare a maniacal Dopant, I’m not so sure it’s something worth remembering.”

Team Shadow Gear looked at each other nervously as they continued towards the station. As they walked, Friedrich happened to catch Levy and Gajeel walking a little bit closer together. He shook his head and smiled, satisfied that another mission was successful. But something still bugged the traveller. What _did_ scare the dopant so much? As far as he knew, nothing in his memories should have proved so terrifying…

FHG

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NS: Hm...in the end, a really lackluster fight, but honestly I couldn’t think of much else.
> 
> UO: Considering we’re using this as a set up for other things it’s to be expected. Anyway don’t count on this being updated for a while, we need more story progress in Nakama. Speaking of, REVIEW BOTH OF THESE YA JERKS! Anyway next time would be after Oracion at maximum.
> 
> NS: As always, if you have any questions or comments, please leave a review or send one of us a PM.


	5. Fighting Your way Up to Baron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mission to save a town under siege results in a fight over their freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OSPREY...SWOOSH
> 
> UO: Alright then, it's time for another Gaiden chapter. This particular one takes place while the Aura and Mage Riders are at Erza's temple. But it will start after Friedrich explains what buds are. NS any thoughts or shall we let this train start?
> 
> NS: It sure has been a while, hasn't it? Time to get to some Tinkering and badassery.
> 
> UO: Let's see...usual disclaimers apply (Hears Katsuki flying at him and a casual kick to his face sent him back) Let's not do that again. (Punches Natsu out of studio) Alright, let's go.

"Speech"  
 _Thought_  
Text  
 _Inner to Outer_  
 **Monstrous/Rider** **  
Attack/Spell/Finisher**

Chapter 5; Fighting your way up to Baron

Friedrich carefully picked up one of the Aura buckles. "Alright Levy, this one is...Anabel's, note the black eye and a purple and gold case."

Ever the vigilant notetaker, Levy created a new page. "Right, this is...Kyokan." The bluenette had volunteered to be the man's lab assistant, mainly because of her curiosity what her friends had become and wanting to know what they were capable of. Plus, she was fascinated by his ideas for technology, and how to combine it with magic.

"Kamen Rider Kyokan," Friedrich repeated, going over to one of the dummies he had created. It stood on two legs, made of jointed blocks of silicone. Fabricating that had been a bit of a pain, but it came out fine. "Inserting card and popping it on." He carefully slid the Change Espeon card into the front plate of the belt. The belt activated and surrounded the dummy. "Flipping the switch."

**EVOLVE**

The shield popped out and fell back onto the dummy, transforming it into Kamen Rider Kyokan's armor without any issues. "Right, so let's see here...Anabel's a dancer so the armor should reflect that."

"How so?"

"Normally a Kamen Rider armor should reflect its speciality. So if I'm not mistaken, her legs should be more slender, less armored than say Brock's over there." Friedrich pointed at where Brock's Onyx armor stood, covering a similar dummy. "Now then, let's see if a card from someone else can work on hers."

He took a card from Ash's deck, this one depicting his Sceptile wielding Leaf Blade. He brought it over and held it over Kyokan's belt buckle, waiting for it to scan.

**LEAF BLADE**

Out of the armors wrists, two green blades extended up to her shoulders. He grinned at the results. "So I was right."

"You thought this would happen?" Levy asked.

"Yeah. I mean, they all use the exact same belt design. It only makes sense that they'd be able to use each other's cards," Friedrich explained. "It could be that whoever designed this set was trying for some kind of mass-production effort, without compromising the power output too much. Cards make for a convenient way of programming techniques…" He then had a thought. "…Can you give me Tori's?"

Levy put her notebook down and grabbed the silver belt. "What are you doing with hers?"

"I have an idea. It's possible that Tori's and the Aura Team's cards could be cross-compatible. From what Drew said, the Earth Riders had no problems interacting with the Pokemon in that universe. Since the Aura Riders' cards come from their bond with their Pokemon, and also they can use each other's cards, perhaps that can cross over to a Rider from another team. Of course," he commented, pulling a card from Sirius's deck, "This wouldn't do anything for Leonid or Orion, since they use completely different styles of technology." He walked over to Max's as it was the one that would be the best suited for this.

"Different technologies?"

"Yeah, Drew's is based off a phone, while Gabby's uses Gaea Memories, like these." He held up one of the Memories he'd collected from the Dopants. "Speaking of, can you put Gabby's on another dummy?"

As Levy did so, Friedrich put the Sirius belt on the one next to it. He popped it open and inserted Max's card. "Alright now, starting test. Inserting Max's Change Card."

**Kamen Ride**

He slotted it in and slammed it shut.

**ACE**

He watched with a smile as the Aura-style shield spun out and fell back, causing Max's armor to over the dummy. The armor now suited a more feminine frame, with a knee-length gray skirt and longer boots. "Alright, so they _are_ cross compatible. Now for Gabby." Friedrich pulled out the Sakura Memory.

**SAKURA**

He stood in front of her driver and inserted it. "Activating Orion Driver." He then flipped it to the right.

**SAKURA**

He watched as pink petals formed around the dummy, cladding it in a metallic pink armored top shaped like a kimono and short skirts.

"Well...Gabby wouldn't be a bad magical girl," Friedrich pondered. "As for the next one-" he pulled out another memory, only to stop as his eyes settled on it.

Whisper.

His hand shook for a moment as he stared down at the dark Memory, before slowly putting it away.

"...Alright, that's enough testing here," he said briskly, "I need to take the rings home so I can do some work on them. Thanks Levy."

"No problem. I'll see if I can archive all of these. Drew's probably gonna wanna see them."

"It's his belt," Friedrich concurred. "If it helps unlock further abilities, he probably would be interested." As he left the noisy hall, he realized he had been in that lab for a very long time as the sun was beginning to go down. He sighed and walked down the path to the Earth Rider's house. As he walked along the canal, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a familiar head of hair inside what appeared to be a bakery. Heading inside, he called out to her. "Is that you, Yukino?"

The white haired mage looked up and widened her eyes in recognition. "Friedrich? Is that you?"

He grinned, stepping over towards the white-haired girl. "It's been a while, hasn't it? How are you holding up?"

"Very well actually. I was on my back to Sabertooth and I couldn't resist something for the road. Yourself?"

"Ah…" he grimaced. "Sabertooth. Right."

She blinked, frowning at his expression. "Eh? Why're you…?" Then her eyes widened. "Ah! Th-that's right! Have you, er, th-thought about my offer any further, or…?"

Friedrich sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, Yukino, but I'm afraid Sabertooth will have to do without me." He pulled back his sleeve, revealing the dark green guild mark on his inner forearm. "I've joined Fairy Tail."

Gazing at the symbol of the rivaling Guild for a few moments, she then sighed, looking a little bit down to the side. As her left hand embraced her other upper arm, rubbing it slowly, she replied, "Ah, I see… It's… it's probably for the best, then… I guess I would've caused you nothing but trouble if you joined at my behest, anyway." Clearly, Yukino was trying to act there was no offense taken in Friedrich's decision, but the mage could not hide her disappointment.

He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily. "Not as much as you think. In this line of work, sometimes you gotta search for a bit of danger. Anyway, what should I get?" He asked himself, craning his neck to look over the suggestion. "Oooh, Drew would love these cookies."

"Are you satisfied there?" Yukino asked.

"Hm?"

"Fairy Tail. Have they...satisfied your interest?"

Friedrich looked at Yukino and saw the sadness in her eyes. He gave her a quick smile, "Yeah, they never make it a dull moment." He then had a thought. "Not to change the subject, but do you have a sister by any chance?"

"Huh? Y-yes, I do…or I did. My older sister, Sorano…she disappeared a long time ago." Yukino's eyes widened. "Wait, do you mean…?"

"Well, I dunno if it was her. She answered to the name of Angel, but she did look a LOT like you. Carried Celestial Spirit keys as well, and I'm told that sort of magic runs in the family."

"Sorano's alive?" she suddenly sprang from her momentary aura of shame, shouting as she grabbed the man's coat. Her brown eyes staring strongly at his, asking in a half-suppressed tone of desperation, "Where is she?"

"Easy…" he told her, patting her on the shoulder. "She's alive, yes but unfortunately with the Rune Knights. We… encountered her as part of the criminal group, Oracion Seis." He looked down and smiled, joking, "You know, I don't mind the closeness, but I'd rather have a couple of dates first."

Yukino recognized their position and squeaked before backing away. "I-I'm sorry! But, Oracion Seis? I heard they were just defeated by Fairy Tail and several other guilds. You were there?"

"Yeah, not sure who beat her, but I think it was our own Celestial Mage. If you can find where she's being held, then you can see her."

"Thank you. After she was taken, I gave up on finding her. To know she's alive…"

Friedrich smirked as he picked out some chocolate brownies and some marshmallow treats. As he went up to pay, Yukino took out her purse. "Let me… as thanks for the information."

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, the traveller shrugged let the mage do so before walking her out. "Thank you again Friedrich." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, before walking away with a sway in her hips

Friedrich stared at the retreating girl, then turned back around, mumbling, "She's underage, she's too young for you…"

A few minutes later, he showed up at the Earth Rider's house. Walking up to the door, he knocked on the door since there hadn't been any time to get a key made. A few moments later, Gabby opened the door and scowled. "Hello Friedrich," she grumbled as she walked away.

"Rude much?" Friedrich pouted.

"Gabby, who's at the door?" Drew asked as she walked past him. "Gabby, what the heck?" he put his arms up before groaning, "Sorry about that Friedrich."

"It's fine, what's going on with her?" He asked walking in.

"So remember that whole Nehemoth incident?"

Friedrich winced. "Yeah?"

"Told both of them the full story. Tori's been more accepting, Gabby not so much. She's been avoiding you the last couple of days."

"Subtle. Well, not like it's unreasonable."

Drew took the cookies and motioned to the brownies. "She loves those, maybe that and a glass of milk might get her to talk."

Friedrich nodded and went to grab a glass of milk and headed to the hunter's room. Knocking on her door, she opened it slightly to see him holding up the brownies. "I bring a gift?"

Gabby knew she was still mad, but brownies were a weakness of hers, especially bakery ones. She let him inside and she sat at her table sharpening one of her knives.

Sitting at another table, Friedrich sighed. "It wasn't entirely my fault. I… have another personality that inhabited my current body before I went to Earth Bet. That thing with Nirvana woke him up."

"You weren't the only person affected, I'm more upset you couldn't fight him."

"You ever tried it?" Friedrich grunted, eyes narrowing. "I was fighting him the entire time! Surprisingly, fighting an influence that has complete control over your own body isn't as easy as you make it sound. If it wasn't for me, Drew would be dead!"

"Wait, what?" Gabby stopped her task and turned around. "He didn't tell us that."

"Why would he? He's alive, right?"

"What else happened in that fight?" she then demanded to know.

Friedrich rubbed his head, responding, "All I know was that I was feeling let down by the guild, you didn't help by the way, and the next thing I knew I was in the passenger's seat. I got a front row seat to Drew fighting that guy. I could tell he was strong, so I did my best to disrupt from within. If anything, he saved me. Cause I was falling into despair. His words snapped me out of it."

Gabby, remaining silent picked up a large hammer, walking out and tossing it down the hall. A satisfying clunk and scream followed.

"OW! DAMN IT, WOMAN! I ALREADY HAVE A CONCUSSION!" Drew yelled.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU NEARLY DIED?" Gabby screamed back.

"I DID, I JUST DIDN'T TELL YOU HOW!"

"WELL THEN YOU'RE GROUNDED!

"YOU'RE NOT MY DAD!"

"NO, BUT I'M YOUR HEALER AND I SAY NO MISSIONS FOR A WEEK, MISTER!" Tori yelled back.

"WHY, I WAS PERFECTLY FINE UNTIL SOMEONE THREW A HAMMER AT ME!"

Friedrich snorted. "You spent too much time together," he told the huntress as she came back in.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered sitting down. "So this… other Friedrich… What was he?"

"I'm not sure. I told you a while ago that he was a Villain on Earth Bet. But according to the guy himself, as well as that pin he had on him, he was actually at the fall of Tsuki's Kingdom. He got launched forward in time to Earth Bet, where he took on assassination contracts. Whoever he was he had this Matthew guy's good graces."

"Great… if it's what I suspect, he was one of the Generals like Yuzan… now I feel like an idiot," Gabby moaned.

"No," Freidrich shook his head. "You reacted as someone who saw a person they care about get hurt. Sometimes rational thought goes out the window." He looked up at the wall and saw a large black rifle mounted above her bed. "How'd you get a military rifle?"

Gabby looked up and bit her lip. "It's a Remington 700, designed for Police use. My father got a hold of one thanks to some police contacts. It's chambered for hunting with the .308 Winchester. I only brought a couple of hundred rounds so I'm not gonna fire it unless I need it. But…"

"What happened?" Friedrich pushed.

"...if you are from my world… what happened a year after 9/11?" Gabby asked.

"I don't know, you tell me."

She sighed. "So...about a year after 9/11 and people being more paranoid than ever, some nut job and his young ward decided to start sniping people. John Mohamad and Lee Boyd Malvo were their names. They killed 10 people in the D.C Beltway area and another 7 leading up to it. Including FIVE in one day, four in two hours. Everyone was scared stiff and I remember watching it on the news. I had almost given up my rifle, but Drew and Tori convinced me to not give it up. Still reluctant to use it. Though I'm glad he's getting the needle."

"Gabby…if you limit yourself to your bow and knives, you're limiting your potential. You are not those mad men."

"I know… but it still stings," she mumbled.

"Well, if you can give me a bullet, I can make sure that you don't run out anytime soon. Who knows, someone could become a Tinker that specializes in this. Anyway, here," Friedrich handed her her driver. "The Memories I've found are compatible with it if you ever need them."

Gabby hummed and took it back. "Interesting."

"Right, anyway I'm gonna be looking at the mage belts for Natsu's team. Might be a while," he said, stepping out.

"Fried?"

Friedrich turned to the hunter. "Yeah?"

"Thank you, for everything so far," Gabby quietly said to him as she grabbed a knife to sharpen.

The traveler nodded, giving a small smile, and headed to his room.

(Play Teardrop (instrumental) by Massive Attack, I.e the House theme)

_Rather than unlocking anything new, first these rings have gotta get shrunken down,_ he thought to himself, carefully laying out each belt and set of jeweled rings. Silver fluid flowed out from under the skin of his arm, encasing his index and middle finger in armor. Another section circled his eye, forming into a lens, around which flared an Archive magic circle.

He scanned each of the rings, breaking down what parts of their structures carried the 'patterns' of each spell inside them. Once he spotted them, he carefully carved away all the excess, leaving behind a much more reasonably-sized gem on the ring. The armor on his fingers emitted a small, but bright laser, shearing through the stones. With Natsu's, he traced a different type of dragon for each element, from a serpentine one for the water to a larger dragon for the fire. With Gajeel's rings, he pictured a large fleet that all fed power to the first ring. With the Ice mage's rings, he depicted different sized wolves, as there were many species of the pack animal. Each ring was individually carved in place. He didn't want to disrupt the magical connection, nor the connection to this power Tsuki gave them.

Hours passed as each ring was set aside upon completion. Once each ring was completed, he moved on to the belt buckles. With the differing circuits compared to their original programming, he would have to rewire the belts to take the new workload. He took the time, much like with the other belts, to look at the mechanics of each belt, how each one worked. For a civilization that was from hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was amazing how close it was to the 21st century. _Maybe it was like one of those shows where civilization got dropped back to the stone age...the more I learn about humanity, the more I am impressed at what they can do._

Next, taking a pair of rings that he'd bought, he fashioned the tops into miniature, but still intricately carved dragon heads. For the eyes, he set two tiny chips of the gems he'd cut away from the other gems. One would be for Natsu, the other for Gajeel. _I mean why let it go to waste._

Once the wiring was finished, he turned to the last two belts, Erza's and Mira's belts. Unlike the other mage belts, the girls used items as a sort of key mechanism to start them up. Looking at Mira's first as he had finished Lucy's earlier, he noted that the belts had computer like circuits. _The power contained in these cards must be enormous. Considering that Mira has a few forms that are more powerful than what she showed off, they must be taking a lot of strain. Best fix that right now._

Examining the cards, he realized that each one carried a bar-code-like sequence of runes. Carefully stripping out the old wiring, he instead installed a series of sockets, with a system that would move around tiny rune-stones into the appropriate places in order to match a scanned card.

 _That should do it, now for Erza's. This could be interesting.'_ He thought as he looked at the miniature swords she used. _Perhaps a better system of putting it through the block._ He popped open the bracelet and examined the grindstones. Seeing them in a stage of aging he decided to replace them, making them harder to wear down. Considering how much she would use the belt in the future, it might help.

Finally done, he yawned, realizing how tired he was. _Maybe…I just need a few minutes,_ he thought, lying down on the bench. Before long, he was off to dreamland, snoring away. In the doorway of his room, Drew had been watching for the last hour or so. He had wanted Friedrich to go to bed, but this was the first time he got to watch the inventor actually work.

 _Friedrich...what you've done is amazing,_ he thought as he watched his friend finally stop before laying down. Drew walked to the closet and grabbed a spare blanket, before coming back and laying it over him. He then walked over and killed all the lights before walking out. A final glance back at his friend and a smile appeared on his face before he walked out and went to bed himself.

(End song)

The next morning, Friedrich groaned as he sat up. "Damn, I must have been more tired than I thought." Noticing the blanket, he wrapped it around himself and headed to the kitchen. Inside, he noticed Drew whipping up some breakfast in a grey t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Hey Friedrich, you hungry? Got some juice in the fridge. Girls should be up soon."

The inventor grunted and sat down after grabbing some apple juice. Moments later, Gabby and Tori walked in, yawning as they did so. The blonde hunter was in a sports bra and sweats while the brunette was in a pair of blue pajamas with small puppies on them.

"Morning," Friedrich waved. "Didn't think you'd dress that modest."

Tori rolled her eyes. "We have some decorum. Besides we have a guest."

Friedrich chuckled before Drew plated the food and served them bacon and eggs. After the breakfast and showers they all headed to the guild. When they arrived, they already saw that the guild's chaos had already happened as they had gathered around a bird.

Drew groaned. "Too early for this," he grumbled. "Hey guys,' he started but then noticed familiar markings on the bird. "Oh cool a Bald Eagle!" He said walking over.

This got his housemate's attention. "What's a bald eagle doing here?" Gabby asked.

Their answer came soon enough as Drew helped Erza control the bird and pulled out a map. "I think it's Erza's temple guys."

As the team got excited, Friedrich whistled to get their attention. "Now then, since this is probably a temple I bet you need your belts. Fortunately for you I got them all right here."

"What did you to them?" Lucy asked as she carefully took her belt back.

"For the mages I updated and rewired them. They should be sleeker and easier to use. For the Aura team, I figured out a few things mainly you can use other cards and not just your teams." He said looking at Tori.

"Wait...I can use theirs?" She asked.

"And vice versa," he nodded. A few minutes of scrambling and thanking Friedrich later every Rider save Drew Tori and Gabby had left.

The traveller sighed. "Well now I'm bored. Anyone got a quest I can join?" He said sitting down. Glancing around the guild, he blinked as something occurred to him. "Oi, Juvia!" he called out, standing up.

The rain woman, currently wearing a blue sarong, blinked at being addressed so suddenly. "Yes?" she asked warily as he walked over to her.

Friedrich held out his hand. "May I copy your magic?" he asked.

The blue haired mage blinked. "Juvia wants to know why?"

"Been a while since I really used Water Magic. Misty's is only part of the skills I've seen, I wanna see more," he replied, "Besides, you can actually turn into water, yeah? That sorta ability is really rare, and I'm pretty tired of getting smashed around so often."

"Hm…" The bluenette cocked her head in thought, then shrugged and took his hand. "Alright. Juvia doesn't see why not."

"Friedrich thanks you."

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously at the joke, but sauntered away.

A few moments later, Alzack approached him. "If you want, you can come with me and Bisca," he said, offering him the quest sheet. "Some town is having trouble with a noble trying to take over. They feel that having a team of mages might bring them to the table."

Friedrich took a look at the quest sheet and nodded while standing up. "Alright then, let me get my stuff. You can stop by our place."

"Hey Fried?" Drew called out laying against a pillar. "Why don't you take Gabby?" The blonde looked at her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. "Got too many short range options, Gabby can easily play both if it gets ugly," he said, pulling himself up. "Come on, I can help pack."

"Don't strain yourself!" Tori warned.

"Yeah yeah," Drew moaned.

The older man glanced at the blonde. "If you're up for it, sure. Company is usually better on a mission, I suppose. And if we run into a Dopant, then I won't have to struggle."

Gabby stared at their housemate with a critical eye and then nodded before they returned to their house with the two cowboys in tow. As Gabby packed her bag, she looked up the rifle on her wall and paused. Images of the good and bad flowed through her head, from her first hunt to the recent sniper killings and it made her conflicted.

"You know, Friedrich's right, you are holding yourself back," Drew said from her left scaring her.

"Jesus!" She yelped. "Wear a bell why don't ya!"

Drew chuckled as he stood up on a chair and pulled the large rifle off the wall. "Gabby, there is no person I rather be watching out for us than you." He checked the slide and then pointed at the window before carefully giving it back to her. "Be the huntress I know you can be, show no fear."Gabby looked at her boyfriend and nodded before slinging the gun behind her shoulder. The momentary distraction allowed Drew to sneak in a kiss. "For luck, love you." He said before walking out, leaving a blushing Gabby behind.

Friedrich happened to glance into her room and smirked. "When you're done fantasizing about your boyfriend, we're heading out in about ten minutes."

The huntress shook her head and felt her cheek. "Yeah, let's go," she mumbled as she grabbed her bag and ammo box before following Friedrich out.

Tori and Drew watched the group leave. "First time she's not with us for anything since…"

"Since essentially she came on," Drew finished. "We've been through a lot together, good and bad."

"Yeah."

"Don't regret anything except showing more affection," Drew sighed.

"Its fine, I know you don't like...to bring our relationship into the open, unlike Ash and his girls," Tori closed her eyes in sadness. She felt him hug her, making her blush.

"Well...it's gonna change, alright? Friedrich nearly killing me made me realize that you two are probably the best things that have happened to me so far and I've taken that for granted."

Tori smiled. "Its fine. I think you're subconsciously protecting us, but thank you. I can try to be a bit more outgoing too."

"Heh, I saw you eyeing Dawn's outfit, I think you'd be cute in something like that," Drew chuckled, walking back in, the water mage following suit.

Two Hours later on a Train

Gabby sighed as she leaned back in her seat. "So Alzack, what's the mission about?'

The gunslinger pulled out the quest form. "It appears that Cistern Valley is having an issue with a local baron who has been pressuring them to sign something over. They hoped that a team of mages might make the negotiations go smoothly."

"Knowing our luck." Gabby rubbed her eyes.

Friedrich grunted in agreement. "So...I know we haven't exactly interacted a lot. I've told you my story. How did you wind up with Drew and Tori and why sniping?"

The blonde looked out the window. "We've been school mates for years, Tori since Kindergarten. Drew moved to our town in 2nd grade, he and Tori are neighbors. He...let's just say he was an awkward kid. For this reason, he was always targeted by bullies probably because of his behavior and his...habits. He always had someone helping him, but it became easier for him to do things over tome. I...for some reason always enjoyed being around him. Probably because he was polite for an 8 year old. Then in 3rd grade something in him changed. He become more...centered, still awkward, but he could tell was doing something to change himself. Was about the same time Tsuki showed up, I didn't realize it then. About halfway through the year, Tori started acting a bit more confident, which again I now see as Tsuki influencing her."

"And how did you become a Rider?"

She smiled in happiness. "It was about...4th grade or so...Tori's never been the strongest physically, so she's gotten seriously sick a couple of times. Drew approached me of all people to come help deliver her homework 'cause he didn't feel right at that moment to go into another girl's room. Because I was in her homeroom, I got her homework and we came over." She sighed. "I saw her on her sickbed and...I guess I had a sudden awakening cause I keeled over. Next thing I knew I was in a forest and Drew was talking about me being a Knight and well now you know. As for being a marksman, well I was always a tomboy and an independent person. Unlike Tori and Drew, I'm always out hiking or being outdoorsy. I guess learning to hunt became second nature. Got some nice Deer kills and a couple of bears with both by gun and arrow."

"It also has to with the fact that of the three of you, Drew's short range and Tori's the healer, so you would have to balance it out somehow.

Gabby hummed. "So what's your story?" she asked the two cowboys.

As the two regaled her with their stories, Friedrich looked outside at the passing scenery. After a few moments, he noticed something coming out of the hills. As he watched, he felt a thrill of surprise when he realized that it was a large group of mounted troopers approaching the train and based on how they were dressed, they looked like bandits.

"Uh, guys? I think we're about to be part of a heist. And they look more competent than 6 guys in a game room."

At his words, his companions looked out the window and saw the approaching group. "Alzack, go warn the engineer and try to keep everyone calm. Bisca, come up to the roof. Friedrich, warn the passengers and repel anyone that gets aboard!"

As they separated, Friedrich held up his hands. "Everyone relax, these bandits are easy pickings. However, as a precaution I'd advise you all to duck your heads and stay down."

While the world traveller ran to each cabin, the girls quickly climbed onto the roof of the car and set themselves in a sniper position. Gabby glanced over and whistled. "Nice one, is that a custom hunting rifle?"

"Close, it's part of my Requip magic, like Erza's. What's yours?"

"A Remington 700, this can easily kill a deer at 800 meters. These guys are nothing," she said getting herself ready.

"Have you considered using magic with it?"

"Not yet, need to figure out how to modify it for magic. Less talking more shooting!" she shouted, lining up her shot and pulling the trigger. The shot struck one of the lead riders through the neck caused it to topple over, taking another with it. Bisca meanwhile fired off to right and struck another in the head. Both simultaneously reloaded and fired again, catching the marauders off guard. They split up with one group going to the front and another going to the rear. The first gang member reached the engineer's cabin. As he touched the stairs, his head was popped off by Alzack's shooting.

He twirled his pistols around his finger, grinning. "How about sunlight. **Guns Magic: Sunlight Shot!"** He charged up his guns and fired off two bright beams, which lanced across the car and pierced through the group of horsemen in front of him. He turned to the engineers. "Just keep the train going, I got you covered." The lead conductor nodded and ordered the fireman to add more power. His temporary distraction allowed two more to board which were quickly dispatched with a fast rain of shots.

In the back of the train, Friedrich frowned, looking at all the firearms. "Not gonna stand out if I go with the crowd," he muttered, his knife transforming into a short sword.

_Glory Girl._

He looked down at his side. "No shit?" With a grin, he lifted off the ground, tilting his body until he lay flat along the ceiling. "Alright, let's give 'em something to shoot at!"

He glanced down, behind where he'd been, just as another group of troopers appeared from behind him. He grinned and readied his sword. "Incoming!" He swooped down from the ceiling and swung, his blades gleaming in the sunlight. Before the Troopers could even register his presence, the edge had already bit halfway through a neck. They were quick on the uptake, however, raising their guns and opening fire. However, he spun and rolled through the air, moving in too many directions for them to predict and swinging his sword chaotically. Every so often a bullet would smack his shoulder or leg, doing no damage, but even so he dodged with a great deal more caution each time.

As he cut them down, more kept clambering on board to replace their fallen brethren. "Geez they keep coming! Gabby, Bisca, what are you doing up there?"

Gabby fired off another round and reloaded the clip, thankful for Friedrich giving her several boxes. "It's not exactly easy to fire a shot off a moving vehicle and then reload every few shots Friedrich, we're lucky half of them are dead or scared off."

Bisca was firing off shots next to her and panted as she pulled the slide back. "I…I haven't used this much magic in a very long time." She looked over the horizon and saw a much larger armored figure riding towards them, with plenty of momentum. "Got another one, damn this one's fast!" She yelled, firing off several shots. Gabby, seeing what she presumed was the leader switched her targets as well before firing. The shots ricocheted off a set of metal armor, before he leaped from his mount and crashed through the window. Friedrich heard it shatter and turned to face the newcomer. "Finally the boss shows up." The figure standing before him looked like a medieval knight, with black metallic armor and a chain helmet that contained glowing red eyes.

" **So, you're the ones keeping us from a successful hunt,"** rumbled the newcomer, **"The Baron will be most displeased. No matter, if you fall here, the town will despair and hand it over to him."**

"Well, I dunno what 'it' is, but you've got a lot of balls attacking a train when all your thugs are dead!" Friedrich retorted, twisting his sword, "You're gonna have to tell me what they want or you're gonna wind up a head shorter."

" **Big talk from someone that's about to blood spatter under these wheels!"**

The man raised an eyebrow. "What, from here? That'll be a neat trick." Silver fluid trickled out from under his coat, "But I think you'll find that spilling our blood is not gonna be easy. We kinda have you outnumbered."

" **Doesn't matter, I am a Knight, I shall truly prevail."**

"Yeah keep telling yourself that. Ladies, everything clear up there?"

" _I think we just got the last of them,"_ Gabby replied. _"Need any help?"_

"Just go to the engineer's cabin and tell them to stop at the next station," Friedrich ordered.

" **As if I'd let you!"** the knight roared, charging with his spear. Janus's armor solidified around its master's off-hand, which he raised to block. The thrust struck the newly formed metal gauntlet and slid off with a scrape, the tip sailing harmlessly past Friedrich. Before the knight could pull back, Friedrich had already thrust forward with his sword, piercing its armor.

" **FUCCK!"** He roared, only for Fried to plant his size 13 boot on his face and slam him into the ground.

"Shut up, there are kids present," Friedrich grunted.

Gabby walked up as he said this. "So tell me bastard. What does your Baron want?"

" **Like I told your friend, FUCK-OOOW!** He got hit in the head with the handle of her knife.

"Like he said, there are children here." She then noticed something under his armor. It wasn't silver it was darker, almost...bronze like. "Where did you get that bronze? There aren't a lot of armors that use it.

" **Heh, the Baron has discovered another use for it."**

"Other than weapons, bronze isn't used much outside decorations," Friedrich frowned.

"No…" Gabby concurred. "But what's it made of."

"Copper and Tin primarily."

"Tin isn't needed for it, but copper is. But more importantly, what else copper used for?" Gabby asked.

"It's used...for wiring," Friedrich realized. "Shit, they found a way to make copper piping and wiring! Which means they have access to a way to generate electricity! Does that mean they have coal too?"

" **That's right, and the town the Baron wants has centuries worth of this black rock in the towns. He was told they will make getting energy easier. But they refuse to sell it so now we're gonna take it by force!"**

"There's just one problem with that." Friedrich grinned. "Your not gonna see it! Bye bye!" He hoisted him up and threw him outside the smashed window. Which happened to be over a ravine leading him to his death.

"What do we do now?" Gabby asked as she looked over the window.

"At the next stop, we unhook the train and head into town," Friedrich replied.

Ten minutes the lead locomotive was detached and the group of four took off down the line.

"According to the station master, Cistern Valley is three stops down, but the trains have been stopped due to a blockage after the stop before it," Bisca reported.

"If they intend to siege the town, then that's the way to do it, cut off all means of escape and starve them. If its in a canyon then I suspect the town has...5 days before they might start having food issues," Friedrich calculating the numbers in his head.

"So what's the deal with these things? I mean copper is used in some cheap armor and weapons," Alzack asked.

Gabby looked over the side of the train. "Copper is no longer used in weapons, however it's still considered a very valuable resource for one reason. Its able to conduct energy extremely easily, especially heat and electrical.

"What kind of energy are we talking about?"

"Electricity for starters. Coal as a power source provides a lot of it, but it also pollutes the air. So being able to get that energy efficiently means they probably need a lot of it. This also means they have a power plant somewhere to burn it," Freidrich noted

"I remember the factory we helped Drew and Ash destroy was burning this stuff."

"That was just a factory. Now imagine an actual plant that can burn this stuff. You wouldn't need magic to light up homes. And if that happens, who knows what else they could build."

Alzack sighed, tugging his collar. "To be able to harness electrical magic on that scale… I thought only Laxus could do that."

"Makarov's grandson," Gabby explained, though the traveler knew about him already. "He was kicked out not long before you showed up…actually it was about the time you were cleaning up that town we found you."

"Right. So yeah, 6 billion people back on Earth, needs a lot of energy. Coal, oil, nuclear fission, anything that'll put out lots. And if they want to transport it long distances and last a long time, they need materials that won't wear easily."

"Where can they find such materials?" Bisca asked.

"They're mined. So whoever this baron is, they have a geologist, a rock scientist, who knows what to look for."

The group of four rode on until the designated stop and hopped off the locomotive at the station. Knowing they had a ways, they began their trek out of town and towards their destination.

 _...You know, I need to make some kinda portable vehicle,_ Friedrich thought to himself, shrugging off his coat under the midday sun, _Something like those cool capsule things from Dragonball. Hm… One point to Vehicles, two points to Miniaturization._

Two hours later, when they finally reached the entrance to the valley. Right away, they could see several guards blocking the track. Whoever this Baron was, he had money and power. Transforming his weapon into the light-bending projector staff, he quickly cast an aura around the group to make them invisible to outsiders. This one he'd upgraded since the mission on the docks, so that it also now masked sounds. Carefully they made their way through the outer guards, before reaching the town itself. From their vantage point, they could see how easy it was to siege the town. For starters, the town was built into a large stand alone mountain that was carved out by the rivers below. As a result, there was only one real entrance, a bridge that connected to the canyon wall that presumably lead to the station. The bridge that leads into the town was guarded by a much larger contingent of soldiers.

"So how are we gonna sneak in?" Bisca asked as she stared down her scope.

Gabby gazed across the plateau and saw an aqueduct taking in water from the mountains above. "If we had to get water, I would devise a way to get it up to the town. That Aqueduct has to lead somewhere inside as an additional source of water. They aren't completely sieged yet."

The group of four quickly snuck around the soldiers guarding the town and up to the aqueduct. Once inside, Friedrich's eyes glowed and they were surrounded by a Water Sphere.

"This is Juvia's magic, right?" asked Bisca. "How?"

"Friedrich can copy magic, decipher it, and then use it himself," Gabby told them as they flowed through the large piping. "This is one of the ways he's helped our training."

A few moments later, they emerged into the town in a large fountain. As they stepped out, out of nowr, a dark colored sheathe stopped inches from Friedrich's throat.

"Okay, not the reception I want," Friedrich chuckled nervously. He glanced down the length of the blade to see a purple-haired woman glaring suspiciously at him, wearing a short, sky-blue kimono top and a pair of baggy red pants. "We're not with those soldiers or the Baron."

"Then how did you just sneak in?" The girl growled.

"Easy, your water pipes. If they were smart they should have attacked the water sources first," Friedrich deadpanned.

Before the girl could respond, a more excited voice called out. "Wait! Kagura! They're from Fairy Tail!"

Friedrich blinked in confusion as a cat girl, an actual cat looking girl, rushed up to them. "You're from Erza's guild! That means you came to help!"

"You're...Fairy Tail mages?" the now named Kagura asked, lowering her weapon, her expression relaxing with relief. "Then...that means our distress call was successful!"

"Yeah, so...what exactly is going on here?" Alzack asked.

Kagura kept her grim look, but turned away. "Follow me, we will talk in the mayor's office."

The Fairy Tail mages followed the two women towards a large town house near the center of town. Opening the door to a darkened room, they saw multiple families were huddling close to magical warmth. The looks on their faces spoke of desperation and sorrow as if their wills had been broken. Kagura led the group to a middle aged man sitting at a table with his head in his hands.

"Mayor Oscar, we have a few members of a friendly guild with us," Kagura introduced.

The mayor looked up from the smiled, though it was strained. "Then our distress call got through. Thank the heavens."

After formally introducing themselves, Friedrich asked the question. "Why are those bozos outside attacking your town?"

The mayor closed his eyes. "It began...about two weeks ago. We've always enjoyed are independence, our location in the valley made it easy to defend and we always had plentiful food and trade. Then about...two weeks ago, a local lord, the Baron Nashor, approached us with some sort of...scientist I suppose. He showed us these two rocks," here he pulled out a black rock and a reddish brown metal. "They said that our town was sitting on an entire lode of both of these minerals. They wanted to buy the town and convert into a mine. This town...I love this town, I loved the natural atmosphere here. I refused to sell. Two days later, he brought the troops that you saw outside. He gave me an ultimatum. He gave me 10 days to turn this town over...or they would raze this town to the ground. Tomorrow is the deadline, and to save my people...I feel I must cave."

"No your not," Friedrich growled. "Now that we're here, we're going to kick his ass!"

"How?" Kagura demanded. "We could barely put a dent into those soldiers. And this Baron turned into a Dopant. We're lucky to be able to fight. Without a Rider, its near hopeless.

Bisca giggled. "If what others have told me is true, Friedrich here could fight a Dopant without any help. And Gabby here is one."

Gabby nodded and started to walk away. "Where the heck are you going?" Kagura demanded.

"I'm gonna find a spot to snipe them from. Probably get some stragglers as well," Gabby answered.

"You're...going to fight them from the shadows?" The swordswoman asked incredulously. "You are nothing but a coward!"

"Perhaps but at least they won't expect it. Besides, all of you are close range fighters. We need someone up high with a good position on that bridge," she said walking away.

"Let her be," Friedrich told Kagura. "She can handle herself. We need a plan of attack for tomorrow."

"You...will help us?" the mayor asked hopefully.

The man gave him an odd look. "Yes? Of course we will, why else would we have come? Yo, Alzack, let me take a look at your bullets!"

An hour later, Friedrich was humming a merry tune while working on Bisca and Alzack's weapons. Millianna being the curious cat walked up to them as Alzack explained how his magic worked. "So are you in Erza's guild?"

"You mean Erza Scarlet? Yeah she's still there. Did you know her?"

The brunette pouted. "Yeah...we used to be friends...and fellow prisoners a long time ago. We met when we…well, the story is complicated. Let's say she helped us get free."

"What she isn't telling you is that we all came from the same town," Kagura said walking up. "I was lucky in that I was hidden by my brother. But he was taken instead. I...was informed he died there."

Friedrich winced, knowing the story of that particular incident. "Yeah, he died getting people out."

Millianna looked at the bullets lined up on the table. "What are you doing with his gear?"

He glanced up at her for a moment, picking one up and flicking it into the air for her to catch. "Alzack uses magic ammunition with his guns. I'm taking a look at each of his different bullets, to see what sets them apart and what makes them similar." He squinted at the markings engraved along the sides of each casing. "Then, I'm gonna take some bullets and turn 'em into ones that he can use for any purpose."

"Oh~~~" Millianna said in awe.

"You have no idea what I just said," Friedrich deadpanned.

"Nope! But there are so many cool little items, nya," chirped Millie with no shame.

Friedrich liked the cute nya sounds and chuckled. "Alright so maybe it went over too much. Let's start with some basics."

"So...why are you so familiar with these weapons?" Kagura asked. "They are just magical items, why are you so interested in them?"

"You mean like your sword is just a sword?" he replied dryly, making her stiffen, shifting her sword out of sight, "There's dozens of these kinds of things out there. That means that someone had to go to the trouble of coming up with them in the first place. And if something has been made, then chances are, it can be made better. For instance," Friedrich nodded at Alzack's revolver, "Where I'm from, we've got guns that work even better than that."

"How so?" Millie asked, picking one of them up curiously, only for Friedrich to grab her wrist.

"Easy there. You don't know if they're loaded. Always treat them as if they are. Anyway, Drew's, our friend's weapons are designed to fired without depressing the hammer after each shot and are easier to reload."

Kagura sighed and sat down while he worked. "Changing topics, what's so special about these black and red rocks? I mean, the black rocks are so dirty, and the red ones seem like it would only be used for armor.

"Well…the black rocks are coal. Burning it can actually make energy, non magical electrical energy. Surely you don't think something like trains run on magic, do you? The copper does make bronze, yes, but it also helps transfer the energy. Copper piping recycling and robbery are pretty valuable businesses. The fact they want to mine this area means they probably think there's a pretty good source of here. But in order to do that, this area's natural beauty might be tarnished permanently," Friedrich told them.

Kagura processed this and shuddered. "I see. So where is your companion?"

"Gabby? Probably somewhere no one can see her. Way her partner tells it, if she doesn't want to be found, she's not gonna show herself. I believe her too." He finished scratching away at the bullets and handed them to Alzack. "Should be good to go now. It can fire regular rounds, and you don't need to fan the hammer. If you want a special round, focus on what you want while fueling it with your magic."

Alzack nodded and holstered them. "Thanks. Do we have a plan for tomorrow?"

"I have some ideas, don't worry. The six of us will be plenty to take them down."

"Shouldn't Gabby be here?" Bisca asked.

"She'll be fine. Wherever she is, my plans will be fine."

Seemingly satisfied, everyone started to walk away, presumably to rest for tomorrow. Meanwhile, Friedrich had something else he needed to do. Closing his eyes and then adopting a meditation stance, he dived into his inner world.

Within moments, he stood before the new tree that had sprouted on the crystalline landscape. "Alright...let's see how this all works," he muttered, striding up to it.

The bark made his eyes want to slide off of it, looking like a hole into space, full of distant stars, yet disconcertingly erupting from the ground, while the 'leaves' waved about randomly. Squinting at them, he realized that they were actually tiny tendrils. Hanging from the branches were countless tiny fruit, all different shapes, sizes, colors and even substances.

Approaching one of the low hanging fruit, he attempted to pluck one, keyword attempted as it felt like the fruit was superglued to the branch. "Okay…I guess they're not ripe yet," he commented, "So how do I get them to ripen…?" He sat down and crossed his legs. "Hm…if I can't get it down, perhaps I can speed up its ripening process."

He closed his eyes and meditated. While he focused on centering himself, the stars in the tree began to glow brighter, flowing towards a single point. It got bright enough that Friedrich could feel it radiating from about twenty feet away. "Huh?" He went up to the fruit that was causing the brightness, and to his surprise it came off with a simple tug. Its skin was smooth to the touch and solid white, but also carried a familiar texture that made his skin crawl. It was hard, too, more like a solid porcelain apple.

"Well...I _was_ just thinking about making myself tougher," he mumbled, eyeing the fruit apprehensively and weighing it in his hand. "...Bottoms up, I guess!" He bit in, flinching as his teeth _crunched_ through the surface. It cracked and crumbled messily, exposing disgustingly crimson flesh underneath. However, with each bite, he could feel the normal aches and pains that he was used to fading away abruptly.

"Mngh…can't say much for the taste, but considering the damage I've been taking I could use some tankiness." Before he could process it, the landscape slowly fell away. Blinking, he found himself staring at the room he had been in before, with someone poking his cheek. Looking up, he saw Milliana curiously poking at him. "Can I help you, Millie?"

"You were asleep, sorry," the girl pouted. Then she blinked, brow furrowing. "Wait, Millie?"

Friedrich chuckled. "Millie sounds like a cat's name. If you were a cat, that'd be your name, and it looks to me like you're trying to be as catlike as passable."

The mage blushed, but grinned. "I-I...you d-didn't answer my question, meanie."

"Sorry. I was meditating," he said, standing up. "I gotta take care of something and then I'll be going to sleep." He switched on his radio. "Yo, Gabby, you there?"

Underneath a large hill with, a large cliff face, Gabby fired another shot, picking off a curious soldier that had been looking at his dead friend. She sighed and pulled the slide back before reloading. She had used her Earth bending to bury her body up to her chest, to reduce her profile. Then she'd created a wall that layered in front of her shoulder, so she could lean the gun against it and absorb the recoil. Hearing the message, she responded. "What's up?"

" _You in a good spot?"_

"I am," she confirmed, scanning the horizon in the fading light. "I've killed some of guards; they look like they were long range mages. Got a great shot of the bridge."

" _How are you making sure the shots don't echo? These canyon walls would bounce the sounds and you'd probably be scouted out quickly._

"Improvised silencer using some hollowed out rock over the muzzle. Range takes a hit but no one's been able to hear me. I might switch to the arrows soon."

" _Don't. you're losing daylight. Just keep them in your sights. They probably think that with all of us trapped like rats down here, they're not taking any precautions. So they might be lit up."_

"Got it. Any plans?"

" _The boss should be up tomorrow on the bridge. Have you considered counter snipers?"_

"Friedrich, I know what I'm doing, but thank you," Gabby grumbled.

" _I figured, but Drew would kill me if something happened to you."_

Gabby smiled at the thought. "Yeah he would. But yes, I think they'd be on the cliffs here."

" _You alright being out there?"_ Friedrich asked.

"Yeah...I got some snacks, and surprisingly, earth bending a bed isn't the most crazy option."

" _There we go. Alright, I'll try to wake you up before dawn."_

"Trust me, I'll be up long before then." And like that the night went silent. She pulled the slide out and slowly dragged herself out of the ground. Rubbing her legs to get some feeling back into them, she watched as the sun went down and the fires of the various encampments lit up the sky.

"Geez, they act like they've got this in the bag already. What's the phrase Mr. Smith uses? Any Given Sunday," she said to herself. "I bet if Drew was here, he'd be able to pick them off as I snipe them."

Her face softened as she rolled onto her back. "How long has it been since I became a Rider, Five years?" She reached into her shirt and pulled out a silver locket. Inside were a picture of Drew and Tori. Drew's was from a class picture he took last while Tori's was from an old Christmas portrait. Both times were when they actually cleaned themselves up and looked really nice, especially Drew. "I know...Drew's not the most affectionate but we don't help. We haven't felt comfortable being with...another girl. It was one thing being friends like we were."

She closed the locked and closed her eyes. "I remember when we started training, geez Drew could kick our ass. But he knew how to help us succeed. Every time he knocked us down, he pulled us back up." Flashes of her training with Drew and Tori raced through her brain interspersed with moments of life spent growing up together.

"You know what I miss about Drew and Tori? They have the best stuffed animals," she giggled. She tapped the ground and a small flat rock appeared underneath before folding her jacket and lying it on the rock. Laying on the coat, she tapped the ground to soften it and cover herself. "Never realized how covering myself in dirt was so...nice." She slowly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of her loved ones and a simpler time.

Hours later, her internal clock woke her up. Climbing out of her hole she crawled to the entrance of the cave. The early vestiges of light were just cresting the mountains as she set herself up. Thanks to the town's location, she was in an amazing spot. The bridge she was watching, as well as the cliff, she'd holed up in, was facing west. This meant the siegers were staring into the sun, giving her impromptu camouflage. Scanning the horizon, she spotted a flash of light. Focusing on the area, she spotted several more all seemingly turned away from her position. "One...two...I see...five." She counted off through her scope. Then she removed it to take away any chance of being caught herself. _'Simo Heyha had the right idea. Course he was in snow and tundra._

She adjusted her gun. _Alright. I'm in the northern hemisphere, so adjust for a right drift. Then adjust for a cool morning. I'm slightly above them, so bullet drop isn't a factor. Range...Half a mile? Wind speed…'_ She called Friedrich. "Hey Friedrich you up.

A grumbling voice caught her ear. _"What's up?"_

"Can I get a wind check?"

A few moments later, the world traveler pipped in. _It's coming from behind us, maybe...5 to 10 knots."_

"Thank you," she refocused down the iron sights. _Alright, sniper's motto._ She took a deep breath. _One shot...one kill._ She released the breath and pulled the trigger. A second later, one of snipers went down in a heap. Resetting, she adjusted slightly and fired again. In the span of a minute, she took out all of the marksmen she could see. Scanning the horizon and finding no more targets, called Friedrich back. "We're clear!"

Back on the bridge, Friedrich grinned. "Good job." He looked up and saw a large contingent of metallic knights in formation, weapons at the ready to fight. Leading the procession was a tall, gangly man, strolling along the bridge as if he already owned the place. His white suit and pants spoke of decadency and wealth. Clearly he was used to getting his own way.

"Nashor…" said the mayor coldly.

"Well, well, well," the now named man chuckled. "It's been ten days Mr. Mayor. I assume you have come to a decision."

The mayor walked up to Friedrich and stood firm his cane out in front. "You may scare us, you may starve us, but this town is ours. The answer is no!"

Nashor looked confused at the denial. "No? Are you serious right now? Look around you! I can turn this town into rubble and make you all work the mines!" He clutched his chest as he began to laugh hysterically. Calming down, he pointed at the mayor. "Last chance, surrender the town or suffer the consequences."

"Yeah, not gonna happen," Friedrich answered for him. "You're out of luck; we've got a few people ready to fight." As he said this, Alzack and Bisca pulled the safety off their guns, while Kagura and Millianna powered up their respective magics.

Nashor frowned. "Fine then, I suppose a little demonstration of the power I have is in order." He snapped his fingers.

One of the lead knights reached up to his helmet. "Orders received shoot the target!" A few moments passed and Nashor grew agitated. The knight quickly called again. "Sniper team are you there? Come in!"

"What is taking them so long?" Nashor demanded.

"I don't know sir," the knight said fearfully. "Our marksmen are among the best-GAH!" As he said this, Gabby lined up a shot and fired at the knight, hitting him right between the eyes.

"WHAT?" Nashor screamed as the knights panicked leaving them wide open for her shots to find their mark.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think our sniper is pretty good too," Friedrich taunted, "Here's _our_ ultimatum. You leave with your buddies, and _without_ that Memory you got in your pocket, or you won't see sunset!"

Nashor growled and grabbed the memory out of his pocket. Then he began to laugh. "Heheheheheh...hehehehehahaehehahaha...HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAH!"

"That laugh's giving me the creeps," Millianna growled.

"This man has clearly lost his mind," Kagura concurred.

"Only reason he would be like that is if he's used too much. His mind has essentially become addicted to the power," Friedrich growled.

"That's right," the man said briefly before pressing the button on the memory

**PILEDRIVER**

He slammed it into the connector on his neck and continued to laugh. His body was instantly consumed by shadows as his body began to deform in shape.

"What is this?" Kagura asked.

"This is what the Dopant transformation process looks like," Friedrich told them as the process finished. In place of Nashor stood an even thinner, angular figure, as black as night with purple linings around with its shoulder and head. It had an unnatural mechanical look to it, with rounded joints and a metallic sheen, with clawed arms and legs that tapered to a simple point.

" **Hehehaha! Yes, this power is PERFECT. With this body and all of my minions, I, Impierrot will fulfill my destiny!"**

"You're insane!" Bisca yelled.

" **Why thank you my dear! Now boys! ATTACK!"**

Friedrich got on the radio as he summoned more nails. "Hey Gabby can you keep picking these off?"

" _Yeah! Just let me know when its getting hot!"_ She shouted reloading and fired into the crowd.

Friedrich nodded. "Alright! OPEN FIRE!" He yelled and threw the nails in his hands. The attackers stormed across the bridge towards the mages, even as the nails streaked across the gap and pierced through several officers cleanly, before wildly zipping around to stab even more. This is where the defenders had a tactical advantage and why Gabby removing the snipers before were crucial. Rushing a large army across a bridge meant the attackers had to squeeze into get onto the lone route into town. But with the defenders in a good position across the bridge, plus some fast shooting guns, would mow down any attacker.

" **Why do you resist? All the World should be mine. HAHAHA! No more being overlooked for my status! With this power, I will be king!"**

"Well, for one thing, you probably don't know the first thing about actually _being_ a king," Friedrich deadpanned. "Second, how would you take over the Kingdom? Especially considering," he flung a few more nails at the clown, "If for some miracle, you do get past us, there are other Riders that can easily kill you. Best part, as it's treason, they can be authorized by the King.

" **Well then, I'll destroy all of you so nobody can blab! PILE CLAW!"**

The Dopant's hand launched forward, propelled by a column of steel that extended seemingly without end from his forearm. Friedrich only had a split second to react and rolled out of the way, letting the clawed hand smash into the stone wall behind the defenders, bladed fingers piercing the rock seemingly effortlessly.

" **Eheheheha...now that's power!"** crowed Impierrot, retracting his arm with a hiss of metal. The speed of his withdrawal also made Friedrich grit his teeth, being almost instantaneous. **"Oh drat, I missed. Welp, better take down these pesky walls while I'm at it!"**

Friedrich cursed. "Damn it, Gabby I hope you got a good shot!"

Gabby looked through her scope at the battle below as she picked off another. She watched as Alzack and Bisca used their new bullets to pierce through several troopers at once. Alzack in particular was firing off beams and cyclones to blast the charging troopers off the bridge. Meanwhile, Bisca's tommy guns were blazing through those who survived. Even without her upgrades thanks to Friedrich, full plate mail armor had gone out of style for a reason, in that muskets and flintlock pistols could penetrate them. With a machine gun like the Thompson, it was like fish in a barrel.

Over with the Mermaid Heel members, Millianna was giggling as the knights tried to strike her with their lances and swords, bending out of the way and counter attacking with wide scratches which made them cry out in pain. "Corner a cat, get scratched! **Nekoshou Tube!"** A series of pink tubes shot out of her fingers, wrapping around the knights who struggled against the tightening ropes. "And now for the finale! Kagura!"

The swordswoman bent down her hands gripping her sword's sheath tight. **"Art the Unsheathed Sword:"** She blurred out of sight and landed behind them. **"Slashing Form!"** The knights cried out in pain as a wide cut slashed through the group causing them spark and exploded. "Amusing. These fall so quickly now."

"Way to go, Kagura!" Millianna cheered.

Up on the cliffs, Gabby smiled and refocused her scope. But then, cursing to herself, she called Friedrich. "I can't get a clear shot, I'm coming down!"

" _Really? Damn! Alright, get here quick!"_

She pulled out her belt and put it on her

**ANDROMEDA**

"Henshin!" She yelled, slamming it to the side.

**ANDROMEDA!**

Instead of her normal bronze armor, she was now clad in a clay red armor with a metallic toga as the breast plate and bronze sash around her waist. Attached to her wrists were two metallic chains that wrapped several times around her wrists and had a large dagger like point at the end of them. This form was based on the legendary Greek figure chained up to the rock and nearly fed to the Kraken, Kamen Rider Orion: Andromeda form.

She raced out of the cave and flung her right arm out. The chain lashed out, a sharp dagger at the tip digging into the wall. She held on tight as the momentum carried her downwards before firing off another like spider man. As she flew down, a squadron of winged troopers flew in, presumably to assist their brethren.

"Not gonna happen!" Orion growled hanging onto the chain on her right arm. She raised her left arm and fired her needle struck one trooper in the neck, before she snapped it back to collide into the one behind it, which inexplicably blew up.

This got their attention and charged at her. Calling the chain back, she jammed into the wall next to her other chain before releasing it and pulling Sagitarius off her back. Thanking Anabel and May for giving her gymnastics lessons, she leaned back, folding almost double, head almost touching her ass as she pulled the string. Her arrows lanced out rapidly, picking them off one by one, the chain's length allowing her to suspend herself from the cliffs with ease. Once the fly boys were taken care off, she flipped back around and crouched down. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the bridge and calculated the distance. Taking a deep breath she jumped off, the chains extending to give her some leeway as if she was rappelling from a helicopter. Once she felt she had enough slack, she pulled her arms to tighten and the land on the wal. Then she ran up the wall, the chain straining to hold her. Then she leapt off the wall using the chains to swing her forward, the momentum easily approaching 40 Miles per hour. She easily reached the bridge and flung her chains forward. It caught the bridge and kicked herself forward, before she knocked another knight off the bridge.

"About time!" Friedrich called out, leaping out of the way of another spearing claw. He grimaced as one of the fingers snagged his coat, ripping open the sleeve, only for it to momentarily turn silver and flow back together. "God damn is this jester getting annoying. Guess this is a good time to bust out my armor." His coat liquified and spread over his skin, hardening into sleek, jointed armor.

Impierrot's fist smashed into him with a dull *CLANK!* sending him sliding back several feet. However, he quickly channeled his electromagnetism, his boots slamming to a stop and halting the attack.

" **Oho! A tough nut to crack, are we?"** sneered the monster. **"Well, let's give it the ol' college try anyway!"**

"I doubt you would be able to without paying off the teachers!"

" **Oh that is a low blow! I guess I'll have to cut to the chase!"** So saying, the Dopant's wrists suddenly snapped back, his hands swiveling around to reveal a pair of sharpened metal stake in his forearms.

"Okay that was a bad pun," Friedrich grumbled, while Orion fired off her arrows. The dopant laughed maniacally as he cartwheeled out of the way of the rapid firing arrows before he fired. This time, the stakes streaked across the bridge, glancing off Friedrich's side and continuing on to punch through a stone wall.

"GAHH! God damnit! Hold still!" Orion snarled firing off another arrow. "It's like I'm fighting the real Joker here! How did Batman do this?"

"Orion! Calm down!" Friedrich told her. "I'm not telling Drew you got hurt for acting like Natsu!"

Orion took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's like we can't just trap those arms in something like a tube. Heck, water can stop bullets within five feet." She looked at Friedrich and saw a mad glint in his eyes. "Oh no, no no no."

"What? You gave me a great idea!" Friedrich said. "Just wait for your shot!"

"How in the world am I supposed to know?" Orion snapped.

"Oh, you'll know alright!"

Orion groaned. "Why is it that all of the boys are insane!?" she mumbled, firing her chains off to hit another knight.

" **Whoops! You're not taking me seriously!"** Instead of targeting the more armored fighters, he instead fired his stakes into the wall in rapid succession. The wall began to crumble badly as his limbs speared into it over and over, cracks spreading long and deep. **"HeheheHAH! OH but this is FUN!"**

Friedrich growled. "Petty bastard, ain'tcha?"

" **Petty!? No no, never! But when you've got a nail like this, you want something to hammer it into!"** cackled the mad baron. **"Perhaps you'd like to get to the point!"** A spiral groove carved itself into one of his stakes. **"VOID SPIKE!"** He launched his spikes towards Friedrich, only for a hole to open up in the air and swallow it.

The man's eyes widened, and he immediately began manipulating his magic before-

*BANG!*

The stake suddenly erupted from his back, punching clean through the inside of his armor in a shower of...water. "HOLY SHIT!" wheezed Friedrich, face pale. "Space manipulation too? Thanks, Juvia!"

" **Grrr...that armor won't protect you forever!"** Nashor taunted.

"I don't need it to!" Friedrich shot back, his weapon dissolving into green light. When it reformed in his hand, it had transformed into a blocky gun with two barrels, almost like a pistol-sized shotgun. Breaking it open, he pulled out two Gaea Memories and slammed them inside, snapping the gun shut.

**FROST/SHELL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

"Millie!" he barked, tossing the gun towards the cat-like girl as it began glowing, while the water around his back churned and his armor melted off his body, "Shoot me!"

"WHAT?" The scream came from both Millie and Orion. "Are you nuts?" Orion yelled.

"I'm not killing you, Friedy!" Millie yelped, fumbling the gun in a panic.

"Don't call me that and just do it! I can't hold him for long, but I'll be fine!"

" **WELL YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT ONE OF THOSE!"** Imperriot roared, firing the other stake.

*Splash*

The stake tore through Friedrich's head, but instead of blood, his skull deformed around the pole, turning to water. However, as it tried to retract, the water swirled around it, compressing and holding it in place.

"Millie!" Orion snapped.

Acting on pure instinct, she pulled the trigger. A wave of cold ice blasted forward and struck Friedrich. The instant change in temperature instantly froze Friedrich solid, the frost also spreading to the soaked stakes still piercing his body.

" **WHAT!? Let go!"**

The cat mage spun around towards her guild mate, her face twisted with anguished worry and guilt. "Kagura-chan! The spikes!"

"With pleasure," Kagura shouted. **" Art of the Unsheathed Blade: Flash Step Strike!"** In an instant, she darted forward and swung her sheathed blade up.

*Shatter*

The sheathed sword cut through the air, creating a sonic boom and shattering the extendable arms.

" **GAHHH! MY ARMS! YOU BITCH!"** Nashor screamed.

Orion saw a glowing area where presumably the Memory was. She reared back and flung one of her chains into the spot on his chest, stabbing it.

" **NO NOT MY MEMORY!"** Nashor pleaded, vainly trying to keep it in his chest with his ruined arms. Orion merely tugged with all her might, the memory tore out of his chest. As it flew through the air, she pulled out her bow and snatched it up.

**PILEDRIVER**

Out of the middle of the bow's shaft, a small slot which could fit the memory opened. She was caught off guard as she had never used it before but not willing to second guess her self she slotted it through.

**MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

Alzack and Bisca lined up next to her and pumped as much magic into their revolver and rifle respectively. Orion pulled her bow all the way back, gathering power into the shot as it glowed dark purple.

" **GUN MAGIC: SUNLIGHT BURST ROUND!"**

" **SNIPER MAGIC: CELESTIAL BURST**

" **ANDROMEDIA'S HAMMER IMPACT!**

The three attacks fired in a ray of red, black and purple, wrapping around each other and merging as they sped across the bridge, breaking the sound barrier. Before the Dopant could react, the beam blasted clean through him, leaving behind a gaping hole. A moment of silence passed. Then, finally reacting, he stumbled towards the edge, cracks spreading from the hole throughout his body, pieces crumbling away. **"I…this…heheheHAHAHAHA!** He laughed as he tumbled down into the canyon. Moments later, a large explosion occurred, destroying the Dopant and the Baron.

"Justice is swift as an arrow," Orion muttered, twirling her bow. She walked over to Friedrich and tapped his head. "Yo, Fried, you can un-thaw now."

There came a muffled groan. Then, with a flicker, the ice vanished, leaving Friedrich seemingly unharmed, though his skin was now unnaturally white. "Thank god for Alabaster," he grunted, "Son of a bitch is finally good for something."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Nope!"

The mayor hobbled across the bridge. "Thank you, all of you for defending our town. I will make sure both Mermaid Heel and Fairy Tail get their credit where credit is due.

"Thank you," Kagura said bowing.

"Thanks Mr. Mayor," Gabby said powering down. "This town should be safe for the time being. Don't hesitate to call us."

Millie approached Fried and handed him his gun. "H-here."

He blinked. "Ah." He took it, transforming it back into a knife and sheathing it. "Yeah, thanks. I almost forgot that I'd given it away."

"I'm sorry!" she burst out, hands clasping anxiously, "I-It must've really hurt when I shot you!"

Friedrich shrugged. "Well, yeah, sure. I knew that it would, but it would've been tough to freeze myself like that. You did just fine."

"O-Oh thank you," the cat girl stuttered. "Um...do you have to go?"

"Yeah, doesn't mean you can't write," Friedrich offered.

Millie's eyes lit up and she hugged him tight. "Th-thanks for the nickname!" Before Friedrich could react, she kissed him on the cheek before bouncing back to Kagura.

"Come on lover boy, let's go." Gabby said nudging his shoulder.

"I wouldn't be talking," he replied.

"Well, that's what, three girls?" She asked.

"Two, smartass," Friedrich deadpanned. Looking over at the cowboys, he grinned. "Well that's one couple down," he motioned to the new couple, their hands entwined.

"Yeah," Gabby said a little envious. After saying their farewells, the Fairy Tail mages trudged off for the station.

Later that evening, about 9 PM

After separating from the cowboys, Gabby and Friedrich arrived late at night. Unlocking the door, Friedrich called out. "Hey! We're home!"

Drew who was cleaning Osceola looked up. "Hey there, how was the mission?"

"Kicked ass and took names that's what and I got a new Memory," Friedrich boasted.

Tori came out in her PJs as he said this. "Oh how nice. Gabby how did you do?"

The blonde smiled as she laid her rifle down to do the same. "I did pretty good. Took down the dopant and I got some great shots."

Friedrich, seeing the moment coming, decided to head to his room and see what he could build.

Drew was about to ask about the mission when Gabby walked over and hugged him. "Hey, what brought this on?" He asked gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"That mission made me realize, we haven't exactly been a good couple...or rather partners to each other, despite us being together for three years now."

Drew chuckled as Tori sat on his other side. "Yeah, not by choice mind you. But your right, maybe its we started being a bit more...couple-y."

Gabby smiled and gave him a gentle kiss. "I'm gonna go wash up, it's been a long day."

As she left Drew had a final word. "You know if we squeeze together my bed can fit three." The girls were surprised at that proclamation. "What? We've known each other a long time, not the first, and it won't be the last time we slept in the same bed."

FHG

Sitting at the desk in his room, Friedrich touched a hand to his cheek, where Millianna had kissed him. "Second kiss in as many days," he mumbled, "I'd be happy if they weren't both younger than me."

Sighing, he pulled out the new Piledriver Memory, turning it over in his hand. _As expected, Orion was able to use this herself. With a belt or weapon to act as a filter, it's possible to adapt these Gaea Memories._ He thought back to Bisca and Alzack joining in. _Their attacks combined with Orion's shot as well. It was kinda spur of the moment, but I also used two Memories with my gun, didn't I? I wonder…could there be more ways to use more than one Gaea Memory…?_

He drummed his fingers idly on the table for a moment. An idea began to take shape. A vague outline of one, to be sure, but an idea nonetheless. Then, he tapped his temple. **"Three Charges…Transformations."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Chapter
> 
> UO: Geez this was long but worth it. BTW when you're reading about Nashor, yes that's a League of Legends reference, but think Mark Hamil's Joker voice. Also, his form is a more pointy Dark Star Shaco skin, also from League.
> 
> NS: More importantly, powers used today!
> 
> Glory Girl: A Cape from Earth Bet, whose powerset is referred to as an Alexandria Package; that is to say, flight, super strength and durability. The durability comes from a skin-tight forcefield. This forcefield can be disrupted for less than a second after being hit by an attack above a certain level of force. In addition, the user projects an aura that inspires fear in enemies and awe/admiration in allies.
> 
> Evolution: This power manifests as a tree of many mysterious fruit, each representing a path that builds off of any of Friedrich's powers. By focusing for a period of time, Friedrich can permanently upgrade any aspect of his powers or himself.


	6. The Quiet Explosive Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thunder God Tribe reluctanly brings Friedrich along. But his help is needed as an Anti Magic town intere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OSPREY...SWOOSH
> 
> UO: Okay, it’s time for another Gaiden chapter…
> 
> ?: *Busts through the doors* Oz, why didn’t you tell me about Nakama 32!? I mean, you did fine and all, but you didn’t have to worry that much about me being busy with studying! Hell, I could’ve thrown in a post-chapter commentary like I wanted to in 31 with Dawn’s bud—
> 
> UO: *Slaps him into DBZ* Sorry, I can't hear ya!
> 
> ?: God damm— *Gets warped*
> 
> NS: Strap the fuck in lads, this one’s gonna get DARK.
> 
> “Speech”

  
_Thoughts  
_ Locations and Time skip  
**Super Form/Monstrous  
Attack/Spell/Finisher**

Chapter 6: The Quiet Explosive Rage!

September 17th X784 (Two days after the Riders head off to the Sawar Manor)

Friedrich hummed a tune as he tinkered with his Acoustic Chamber. Thanks to Natsu waking up his bud, the damage wasn’t as bad as he feared, but because he personally made it, he still treated it as if it was his own child. Tightening one last string, he put his tools down before sliding over to the table, leaving his creation to start plucking away. Summoning a magic circle, he pulled out several sets of blueprints and laid them out. These blueprints were for the various Tinker labs he’d promised to create for the newly Budded Riders. Currently, he was looking at May’s lab, as it would need the most set up.

 _So if May’s going to work effectively, we need a greenhouse. Not only that, containment measures for anything that can move independently, or that spreads spores or pollen. Who knows how dangerous that might be. So that means we need tubes for circulation. Might also need to set up separate rooms for the various plants. Also, I might need to talk to her about uniforms in the lab. Lab coats are a definite, but what would she wear that would appeal to her?_ He thought as he scribbled down notes.

As he wrote, over at another table, an argument had broken out with the remaining members of the Thunder God Tribe. Ever since Laxus had been kicked out, the team had kept to themselves and taking multiple missions away from the guild. As time wore on and some of the newer guild members began to get stronger, the trio began to grow jealous over what their fellow mages were learning from the man, and they’d been excluded from said training. As it was, Friedrich Holmgardt was the reason for their argument. A priority mission had come into the guild, and Makarov had assigned it to them, provided they could get a fourth member to come with them. After eliminating most of the guild due to their still preconceived notions of strength and the fact most of their choices were out, Bickslow offered up Friedrich to come with them. This set off Freed as he didn’t want to deal with the man due to the unusual inventions he had made and the dissing of his magic while Evergreen argued they could deal with the mission without him. 

“Look, just because you don’t like him, Freed, doesn’t mean he can’t help us!” Bickslow growled.

“Help us Help us Help us!” Bickslow’s dolls echoed.

“His so-called technology is unnatural. My runes can easily do what he wants,” Freed declared. “Besides, it's like he’s replacing Laxus.”

Evergreen slammed her fan down. “Look, this is not going to get us anywhere. I will talk to him and see if he wants to come along.” She stood up and strutted up to the scientist. Stopping in front of him, she cleared her throat. “Excuse me.”

Friedrich looked up to the vain mage. Like the other ladies of Fairy Tail, she definitely did not lose any points in the looks department. But her attitude in Friedrich’s mind needed a lot of work. “Can I help you, Evergreen?”

For some reason, his voice scared the female mage a little. Almost as if she was standing in front of a giant. “Um...we...meaning Bickslow, Freed and I was wondering if um...you would like to do a mission with us?”

Friedrich stared at the woman in front of him. He had heard the arguments, and it still stung that some people didn’t fully trust him, even after a couple of months in the guild. The fact that Drew still had to defend him only made him feel worse. But looking at Evergreen, who was one of his more vocal detractors, asking him if he wanted to go on a mission was a nice change of pace. “Yeah, alright. I’m a little bored anyway.” 

Evergreen let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Great. Um, the client is staying at a hotel in town. Let me go get the master so we can get going.”

Friedrich walked over to the two men as Evergreen did so. Staring at the two males of the Thunder God Tribe, he spoke slowly. “We don’t see eye to eye and that’s perfectly fine. But if this little cold war between us affects the mission we’re gonna have problems. Let’s at least be civil with each other, alright?” He asked, holding out his hand.

Freed frowned and looked at the hand. “I still don’t trust your technology, Friedrich. But I agree for the sake of this mission. We need to at least be cordial.” He shook his hand. “Now I believe our client is in the hotel near the station, come on.”

Friedrich fought the urge to roll his eyes, but nodded and followed the group, meandering a little bit behind them, while they stuck together. He whistled to himself as they walked, mostly out of boredom, but also in response to the ideas filtering into his head of new musical animatronics that he might like to make.

_Fingers are good for guitars, but it’s not that great for a violin. Maybe one to do that. And then something for winds. A piano? Nah, I’ll just build one meant to be played by a human.”_

His whistling slowed down as they approached the hotel. It was a nice three-story building obviously meant for travelers with its basic facade with welcoming colors. Entering the lobby, the group of four saw a middle-aged man in a red shirt and black pants. 

“Are you Fairy Tail?” The man asked. 

The Rune mage stepped forward. “Yes sir, we understand this is urgent. I’m Freed Justine. These are my companions, Evergreen, Bickslow, and Friedrich Holmgardt.”

“Good.” The man sighed, but there was definite worry in his eyes as he surveyed them. “I’ve got a carriage that’ll take us there; it should be just a day or so if we don’t get stopped.”

“What’s making you nervous about being around us?” Friedrich asked.

“W...what makes you say that?” The man asked.

“The fact you didn’t come right to the guildhall and the fact you’re acting skittish around us,” he pointed out.

The man looked at them and dropped his head, “Fine. Let’s get in the carriage, and I’ll explain.” Moments later, they were on their way, horses pulling them down the road out of town. He licked his lips, clearly trying to find the words to tell his story. “There’s no real easy way to say this, so I’ll apologize in advance…to tell the truth, the rest of my town doesn’t know about this. They’re not…a lotta the adults ‘round there don’t like magic.”

Freed stiffened, while Bickslow uttered a low, “Hmmm~?”

“I won’t ask why not,” said Friedrich, leaning forward, “Because honestly, I don’t care. What’s important is that you came to us anyway. That means that whatever’s going on, you don’t think that your town’s usual problem-solving methods are going to cut it.”

“...Yes. For the past two weeks, a monster has been showing up out of nowhere and rampaging through our fields! We’ve had to abort several crops altogether; there’s nothing left but craters and smoke.”

“Craters? That doesn’t sound just like fire. Sounds like impacts and explosions.”

“And that matters how?” asked Freed, feathers clearly ruffled by the other man’s assertion of himself into the conversation.

Friedrich side-eyed him. “It means that we’re dealing with someone with access to bombs, or something similar. But you said it was a monster? Has anyone seen it?”

The client nodded, shuddering, “Saw it myself, as did plenty of people. It wasn’t exactly quiet, blasting off in the middle of the night. It’s making the town more suspicious of magic. Especially…”

“What happened?” Evergreen asked.

“...My nephew’s girlfriend...she was discovered to be a magic-user. When I found out what she did, I… didn’t take it so well at first. But when I saw her use it, I realized...my prejudices were unfounded. Unfortunately, someone else found out and…” He buried his head in his hands. “I don’t know how, but my nephew has turned into that thing. I know why; he wants revenge on whoever hurt her so badly. But unfortunately, we don't even know who started it.”

The Thunder God Tribe gasped as Friedrich clenched his fist, “I see, and you came to us to figure it out?”

“We haven’t been isolated enough to not know that Fairy Tail has been able to beat these creatures in the past,” the older man spoke, “but I feel like I picked the bottom of the barrel.”

“Shut your mouth!” Evergreen snapped, flaring up. “We are one of the strongest teams in the Guild! We can handle whatever this beast is doing!”

“Strongest! Strongest! Strongest!” Bickslow’s puppets echoed.

Friedrich deadpanned at them. “Currently, the Kamen Riders are the strongest teams in Fairy Tail, hate to break it to you,” he drawled, “And unfortunately all of them are deployed right now! But more seriously, you say your nephew turned into this thing? Sounds like a Dopant. Fortunately, we ARE all familiar with those, and I can fight them reliably.”

“That...is reassuring!” The old man spoke hesitantly, while the carriage rolled on.

Early the next day, the carriage slowly pulled into the town. It was much smaller than Magnolia by a long shot, and definitely fitting the farming hamlet vibe. But then there was a set of fortifications, which generally meant that Fiore saw some strategic value to the town or it had played one in the past. As they climbed out, the local garrison approached.

“Halt! State your business, Mages!” One of the guards growled, holding up a spear.

The guards followed suit, holding their weapons at the four mages. Friedrich was about to ask how but then noticed that Evergreen’s low cut dress and the fact her stamp was on her right boob gave themselves away. “Well, stealth is clearly not one of your strong suits.”

“Please put your weapons down. They’re here to help with our issue, James,” the client told the head guard.

“Trevor, you know as well as I do that mages aren’t welcome here. And why this guild? They’re extremely destructive, and their guild brings all sorts of trouble!”

“We may have that reputation,” Freed explained. “But, I assure we will be thorough in our investigation and bring whoever this Dopant is down!”

“Bah, why do you care? It’s all that girl’s fault! Nothing good came of mages!” James growled. Trevor’s fists clenched, but he said nothing.

“Well, you’re half right, by the sound of it,” Friedrich grumbled, already feeling a headache coming on. As they entered the village, it was readily apparent they weren’t welcome. Many villagers eyed them warily, and more than a few mothers called their children to come inside, glaring at their group. 

“I know Fairy Tail had a reputation, but this is ridiculous,” murmured Evergreen, rubbing her arms self-consciously.

“Our reputation is only part of it,” commented Friedrich. “No this is starting to remind me of some messed up shit back on Earth Bet.”

As they walked through town, they heard a snort of disgust. “Well, well, what do we have here? Four ugly mages walking around where they don’t belong.” The team turned to see a muscle-bound man with dark hair and wearing an extremely confident smirk. “Ryan knows they shouldn’t be here. So why are they on Ryan’s turf?”

Friedrich rubbed his eyes. “Yeah yeah, we don’t belong here, we should just get lost, yadda-yadda, I’ve heard it. If you let us complete our mission, we won’t deal with you more than necessary. God willing.

Ryan stepped forward and grabbed Friedrich’s jacket. “Listen to me, outsider. Ryan does not like you. Therefore, Ryan says you should watch what you say!”

Friedrich scowled for a long moment. The other man smirked back, feeling high and mighty over him. Then, suddenly, he smiled and grabbed his wrist. “Why? Do you have some sort of grudge against people who don’t speak in the first person? Either give me a reason that you don’t like me or back the hell off. So, if you do this again, you're going to end up worse than the girl this town attacked.”

“That girl deserved what she got!” snapped Ryan.

Just as quickly as it had come, Friedrich’s smile vanished. “Hey, James. Is this person indispensable in this village?”

“Unfortunately, he’s the mayor’s son. Because of that, he’s got considerable sway. Not helping is that he is one of our...strongest men.”

“I see, I see. Well, far be it from me to deprive this _lovely_ town of its strongest back,” drawled the man, sarcasm dripping from every word, “Why, with such a fine specimen here, I’m altogether _shocked_ that you haven’t already defeated the Dopant!”

Ryan gulped as the townsfolk watching spoke in hushed whispers. “Ryan was concerned about the citizens. Ryan was merely luring it into a false sense of security.”

Friedrich craned his neck to peer over at the distant fields. “Oh, yes, I can see that. You’ve got it so secure that it’s blowing up your crops with impunity.”

As he ripped into the man without throwing a single punch, the Thunder God Tribe watched on with flabbergasted looks. “I knew Friedrich was scary, but this feels like I’m watching a little boy getting punished by a schoolmaster,” Evergreen gulped.

“Perhaps there is some truth to Drew’s boasts about him,” Freed sweated.

“Man, he’s destroying this pansy!” Bickslow laughed.

“Pansy, Pansy, Pansy!” His dolls echoed, causing a fearful fuss from the villagers, freaking them out from seeing these inanimate objects with the ability to speak through their master’s magic. Many of them started to chant something related to exorcisms as they backed away from the “insane mages.”

“Bickslow, stow the dolls for a bit,” Friedrich sighed, rolling his eyes. “So, buddy, how have you fought _this_ Dopant? I would really love to hear it. ‘Cause last time I checked, Fairy Tail has been the only one to bring them down successfully, yours truly included.”

“You’re mad! A mere human can’t just defeat them? You must be strong like Ryan!”

He only stared at him for a moment, then smirked. “Must I? You lack imagination. Just as soon as that Dopant, why don’t we show you how mages get things done?”

As if on cue, a large explosion was heard outside of town.

“...Okay, I realize I was tempting fate, but that’ll do!” He grinned, rushing out of town. He approached the fields as another explosion ripped through the area took a good look at his opponent.

It was no wonder that this thing struck only under the cover of night; the Dopant was bright orange, with a massive, jagged jaw and long strands draping from all of its joints and head. Upon closer inspection, Friedrich realized that they were fuses. “Evergreen, get the villagers to safety,” he ordered, stepping forward, “Freed, start setting up a boundary, preferably something that stops ‘people using Gaea Memories’ from crossing it. Bickslow…I dunno, back me up, I guess.”

“I don’t take orders from you!” protested the first two members of the Thunder God Tribe, even as they moved to comply with said orders. As Freed began tracing the rune barrier with his sword, he watched Friedrich line up to face the Dopant. “So...this is what it's like to be on the other side of this.”

“What? You actually used that? Guess it didn’t turn out well,” Friedrich chuckled.

“No...thanks to Mirajane coming back into her powers. But I am curious how you will handle this.”

“You and me both.”

“What?”

“Just watch and learn.”

Cracking his knuckles, Friedrich summoned up his copy of Gajeel’s magic, turning his skin to iron. “Alright, Demoman, your days of making crop circles are over.”

 **“Who are you…?”** growled the monster, smoke drift from tiny holes in its armored flesh, **“Did those hypocrites finally bring in a mage to deal with me?”**

“Well, your uncle did,” he replied, shrugging, “You’re doing this because of your girlfriend, aren’t you?”

**“What…? How did you know about Ramona?”**

“Again, your uncle hired us. Trust me, revenge is pretty tempting, especially against closed-minded yahoos like this lot. But, at the end of the day, there’s only one person who deserves what you’re doing here. You’re just hurting everyone else in the end, yourself and Ramona included.”

A set of fuses ignited, burning towards his elbow. **“Don’t you dare say that name…!”** snarled the Dopant, marching towards him with his fist raised, **“No one wanted to help her! No one! I’ll blow them all to pieces!”**

Friedrich groaned. “A few weeks with a Memory, what was I even thinking trying to talk him down?”

 **“Have a taste! DOUBLE KNUCKLE!”** He held up his arms and lit fuse burned down to his right arm. Once the fuse entered his arms, a giant burst erupted from both wrists, his fists firing off like bullets. Friedrich cursed and crossed his arms, relying on the Iron Dragon Scales to absorb the blow. Even so, as both armored fists struck him, the force of the impact rang out with an ear-splitting *CLANG!* and knocked him back, making him stumble even though he’d seen it coming.

 _This guy’s got a lot of force behind him,_ thought the man, even as he leaped forward, _He’s definitely been using this alot. Has he been in Dopant form the last two weeks non-stop?_ “You’re not the only one who knows how to fight with explosions!” he yelled, **“Blasting Dragon’s Iron Boxing!”** A cone of force blasted from his elbow, sending his metal fist smashing into the Dopant’s armored face with a crash. Hobbling from the power of the first attack, the foe did not have time to be ready for the next consecutive strikes, not letting up an inch.

However, in the middle of that moment, the Dopant suddenly raised his arm and caught Friedrich’s fist dead-on in the middle of yet another punch, stopping it dead. Cursing, the man pulled back, not wanting to see what the Dopant might have in mind. As he did so, however, there was a small metallic *Ping!* and a pin shot out of the monster’s wrist, followed by his hand detaching, still holding onto Friedrich’s fist. Friedrich grunted with shock as the Dopant then kicked him in the chest, sending him stumbling back. He scrabbled at the severed hand latched onto him, trying to pry it off with a curse.

“Aw, son of a bi—!”

*BOOM!*

The detached hand detonated violently with a bang and a flash of fire, kicking up a cloud of smoke. The Dopant watched the cloud closely, eyes narrowed. Sure enough, once it cleared, Freidrich coughed and waved the remnants away, skin still hard as iron. “Ow. Dick,” he huffed, “Okay, so you know how to play with your powers. But do you know how to fight a mage?”

Wordlessly, the armored figure shook its arm, instantly reattaching a new hand. Then, flinging out both palms, another pair of blasts rang out, shockwaves slamming into the man’s chest and knocking him back a few steps. Then he leaped after him, fuses burning down to his elbows. **“Thanks for the tip, bastard! Burst Boxing!”**

This time Friedrich found himself on the receiving end of his own attack, as the Dopant’s fists rocketed forward, propelled by explosions from the elbows, to smash into his own armored face.

“Ow!” Friedrich grunted, the armor cracking and falling from his face for a moment before regrowing. “This is the part where Drew nags that I should be paying attention. Oi, what do I call you anyway? You got a name, haven’t you?”

**“In this form, you can call me Tsar Kelvin!”**

“Emperor Kelvin? Why’s every Dopant got a royal name?”

**“Shut up! I will destroy anyone associated with those hypocrites!”**

“Oh fuck off with that! I’m not exactly friends with them either. Calm down, or I’ll knock you out myself. Either way, I’m getting that Memory off you.”

Snarling, the Tsar knelt down, his shin popping open. **“Why don’t you just take this first?!”** With a loud *CHUNK!* a mortar shell rocketed out the top, arcing high into the air.

Scoffing, the man whipped out one of his nails and hurled it upwards, creating electromagnetic rails to accelerate it to supersonic speed, piercing the shell and detonating it harmlessly in the air.

With a bang from his heel, Kelvin shot forward, going in for another bullet-like blow. Friedrich groaned. “C’mon, that’s not gonna work again on me. **Command V.”**

A burst from the Dopant’s elbow sent his fist streaking out in a vicious hook that could take a head off…only for it to whiff completely in front of Friedrich’s face. As the battle continued, the ground became cratered from the explosions and the spell work. The Thunder God Tribe tried their best to stay out of the way, putting up runic boundaries where they could. But a couple of the explosions hit near them, and their hair paid the price, not unlike some cartoon. 

“This is absolutely insane. How could we have ever hoped to compete with these things?” Evergreen gasped, trying to keep her breasts from being exposed while her leggings were torn to shreds.

“At this rate, if I didn’t have the field up, the whole town would be on us!” Freed panicked, his jacket’s sleeves long gone.

“This is insanity!” Bickslow cheered.

“Insanity! Insanity! Insanity!”

As the battle waged, Friedrich against the Tsar, a group of four children had heard the explosions and snuck out to watch the battle. Unaware of the onlookers, the two combatants charged, creating shockwaves from their impact and kicking up dirt.

Tsar growled as they separated again. **“What are you made of? My explosions can shatter rocks, but you’re just dancing around them. Are you one of those…Rider things?”**

“So you’ve heard of them out here. I’m impressed that anyone in this village has actually paid attention to anything,” drawled the man, cracking his neck, “I’m not a Rider. But you can say I’m one of their trainers. And right now, class is in session. Lesson one: revenge is the most worthless of causes.”

The Dopant froze. **“What…did you just say?”** he hissed, eyes glowing malevolently, **“Worthless? Getting justice for Ramona is worthless?!”**

“You’re not doing this for justice,” Friedrich told him coldly, pulling out his knife and a Gaea Memory, “You’re just lashing out at innocent people. If your girlfriend is the type worth fighting for, then she’d never agree to any of this.”

 **“SHUT UUUUUP!”** bellowed Kelvin, every single fuse on his body igniting with a flare, **“THERE ARE NO INNOCENTS IN THIS FUCKING VILLAGE! NOT ONE OF THEM TRIED TO HELP HER! NO ONE LOOKED FOR THE BASTARD WHO DID IT! SO I’M GONNA BLOW THIS WHOLE PLACE DOWN TO THE BEDROCK UNTIL I FIND HIM MYSELF!”** The jaw of his helmet clicked and fell open, revealing a large cannon barrel just as the fuses hanging from his head burned down entirely. **“AND IF YOU’RE GONNA GET IN MY WAY, THEN I’LL JUST BLAST THROUGH YOU!!!”**

The man sighed, his own eyes hardening. “That’s unfortunate.” He muttered, his skin turning into metal once more. 

Bickslow was watching the fight when one of his dolls looked flew up to him. “What? Kids?” This got the other’s attention. The doll pointed towards a bush behind Friedrich and right in the line of fire. “SHIT!”

 **“SAY GOODBYE! BOMBARDA CANNON!”** With a thunderous *BOOOOOOM!* a massive shell blasted towards Friedrich, crackling with unstable energy. He summoned his rapier, increasing its mass and forming a rail to slice it in two, but…

“FRIEDRICH! WE GOT KIDS!” Bickslow shouted.

Friedrich snapped his head around and saw where the kids were watching. Even as he registered their presence, he once more called on his Velocity Magic and simultaneously used Water Magic to transform, streaming over to them, scooping them up and carrying them away, just as the shell impacted.

As the traveler landed, he glared at the Dopant, who just realized what had happened. “THIS!” He pointed at the kids. “THIS IS WHAT REVENGE DOES! IT GETS INNOCENT PEOPLE HURT OR KILLED! YOUR NO WORSE THAN THE PEOPLE WE FIGHT!”

Tsar staggered back as if struck. **“What...I...never wanted people hurt! I just want justice!”**

“Do you? Do you really?” Friedrich snarled, “Then you’d better start looking for the real culprit. And you’d better find him before we do.”

Tsar stumbled back before turning to run, only to quickly come up against the barrier Freed created. As the tribe rushed to capture him, he raised his leg up high and then _slammed_ the ground. A large explosion blasted out from under his hill, fracturing the dirt and breaking up the line of runes keeping him still, before dashing down an alleyway, undeterred.

Friedrich groaned. “God damn it, this is going to be a bitch to clean up.” He glanced down at the kids he’d tucked under his arms, setting them down. “This is why you stay out of trouble, kids.”

The kids stared at him fearfully, the adrenaline of the encounter wearing off. Knowing he saved them, they stuttered out their thank-yous.

“Ryan asks what’s going on?” The town braggart called out. “Did you mages do all of this?”

Freed growled. “We kept the damage from reaching your town, thank you. Where were you?”

Ryan scoffed. “Ryan was just gathering the townsfolk to help you.” He leered at Evergreen, who stepped backward. “Ryan sees there’s one good thing about mages.”

“Shut it you pig. If it wasn’t for us, you would be down four kids.”

Ryan stopped and noticed the kids next to Friedrich. “I…Ryan sees.” He turned to the townsfolk, where an argument was rapidly brewing.

“THOSE MAGES MADE IT WORSE!” one side started.

“THEY SAVED OUR KIDS!”

“SCREW THEM! THEY DESTROYED OUR FARMS!”

Friedrich groaned. “Well, this is going nowhere.” He noticed Evergreen about to lose control of her shirt and, shrugging off his jacket, gave it to her. “Ya know, as far as I’m aware,” he continued, leveling an even stare at the strong man’s back, “This mess is indirectly your fault.”

Ryan staggered back as if struck. “Impossible. Ryan would never stoop so low as to cause mischief like this.”

“Well, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. You act like a buffoon, but you're not gonna wreck the town. No, I’m talking about Ramona.”

At this, Ryan frowned. “That...woman knew that magic is banned in this village. As much as Ryan wanted to punish Ramona as she did, Ryan knows what happened went too far.”

Friedrich stared at Ryan closely. His body language didn't give him enough to exonerate the musclehead but enough to cast doubt. “And yet, I don’t see you or anyone doing anything more about it.”

The villagers who heard Friedrich stared at him as if such an accusation had never occurred to them before. James spoke up. “Don’t listen to this outsider! He’s gonna destroy this village once he gets rid of the Dopant.”

“Oh yes, because I’m just so gosh-darn evil that I would just destroy a random village,” sneered Friedrich, “Give me a fucking break. Trevor, where is Ramona being kept? I’ve got better things to do than listen to this bullshit.”

“Come on. I’ll show you where she is. With any luck, my nephew will be there,” the older man muttered, while the villagers began shouting obscenities at each other.

The group of five walked away from the town and was led into the woods outside of town. Reaching it, they saw a modest, two-story wooden cottage. Entering the cottage, Trevor called out. “Gloria, Doc? You here? I brought guests.”

Feet padding against the wooden floors made everyone look up to see a brunette woman with a grey jumper that was stretched against her growing chest, a red skirt, green socks, and a green tartan hat. “Trevor? Thank goodness it’s you,” she said in a Scottish accent. She saw the Fairy Tail mages and tensed. “Um.”

“Relax, Gloria. They’re here to help. This is Friedrich, Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow. How’s Ramona?”

Gloria shook her head. “She hasn’t changed much. Those damn villagers are dumb as hell.” She saw Evergreen’s state of dress and frowned. “Whatever happened to you, you shouldn’t go around like that. Come on, I got some sewing supplies.”

Evergreen was thankful for it and followed Gloria to another room. Friedrich, meanwhile headed upstairs to the open room. There he stopped as he took in the image. A middle-aged man in a white lab coat was writing something down as he observed a beautiful pale brunette woman wearing a silver nightdress, her left arm bound up thickly in bandages.

“So that’s Ramona, huh,” Friedrich muttered, looking at the pale form of the girl. “What did they do to her?”

“Concussion definitely, it’s what put her into the coma,” the doctor said, sighing. “What’s more pressing is her arm; it’d be shorter to say where the bones _aren’t_ broken. She’ll probably wake up eventually, but this girl…she did not deserve this at all. It’s likely she may never be able to use her hand again.”

“What’s your stance on mages?”

“They’ve done good and bad. I treat them all the same, the best I can, that was my oath,” the doctor replied as if expecting that response. “I’m the only reason she’s still alive.”

“That’s something, at least,” Friedrich muttered, cracking his wrist against his neck with a sigh. “Well, lemme see what I can do.” 

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “I’ve got at least two powers that can heal like nothing else, and if I can’t call those up, I can easily come up with some kind of healing magic. Haven’t really encountered any, but I can at least figure out the theory.”

“I see. Well, thank you, I’ll leave you to it. Maybe I can have Gloria make some of her tea.”

As the doctor left the room, Friedrich sighed again, gazing down at the young woman lying on the bed. The diagnosis that the doctor had given him had a hot, bubbling, boiling rage welling up in his gut; it was little wonder that the Dopant had run amok with this girl as the cause. He then glared down at his side. “Give me a healer’s power,” he ordered flatly, “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

_ Scapegoat. _

A jolt of shock and apprehension passed through his body. He took a deep breath, his gaze fixing on Ramona’s bandaged-up arm, flexing his fingers for a long moment. _That’s the game you wanna play? Fine. I’ll do it. Four hours is nothing._ “‘Ey doc, can you put together a sling?” he called, shrugging off half of his shirt.

“What for?”

“Me.”

The doctor nodded and quickly grabbed some spare sheets to fasten a sling around his own left arm. Friedrich then approached the bed slowly and put his free hand on her forehead. In an instant, he could see every injury that afflicted her body, and a horrible, rash-like tingling ran along his skin, from horror. Even so, he began to split reality, searching through alternate universes to find copies of Ramona. It took only moments for him to find one that was unharmed, and copy it over to this one, removing the injury entirely. In the process, however, the broken bones had to go somewhere.

There was a deathly silence, broken by a terrible *CRUNCH* of Friedrich’s left arm shattering, from the hand to above the elbow. Then another crunch as he felt his ribs break. All of these crunches were compounded by the sudden dizziness he experienced, as well as ringing in his ear. He struggled not to instantly collapse to his knees, holding back a scream as his eyes felt like daggers with all the light in the room. Even for a man subjected to multiple injuries before, this was a pain unlike anything he experienced, and he didn’t even get involved. His breathing rushed out raggedly, the world around him tilting violently as he fell onto his butt.

It was at this point that Freed and Bickslow entered the room. Seeing their leader in pain, they snapped to the doctor. “What did you do?” Freed demanded.

“He…gah…didn’t do anything...ow-ow-ow,” Friedrich breathed. “One of my abilities lets me take...other abilities from...my world. This one is called...cough…Scapegoat.”

“Your own ability did this?” Bickslow asked aghast.

“Kind of, it lets me look at alternate…dimensions to…copy any uninjured person, for lack of a better term. Downside is, I gotta…transfer the injuries to myself.”

Freed looked at the other’s arm. “You...took all of Ramona’s injuries.

“Yeah...stop gawking and get me to a bed, this broken…GAHH…REALLY HURTS!” The three mages quickly brought him down the stairs to a couch and laid him down. As he sat back, he pulled a blanket over his face.

“Why are you doing that?” Bickslow asked.

“Light’s gonna be giving me a horrible headache until this wears off,” Friedrich told him, “After four hours, the injuries will be gone, but I can’t do anything to heal ‘em until then.”

“What do we do?” asked Freed slowly, 

“Go out into town and start investigating,” grunted the man, “Find the guy who did this, and the Dopant.”

Bickslow rubbed his neck, grimacing. “It’ll be tough going, with everyone looking down on us.”

“Suck it up,” growled Friedrich, glaring up at both of them with his half-blue, half-green eyes. “You find whoever thought they could do this _and make them pay._ Am I understood?”

“Should we wait for Evergreen?”

“No need,” the Stone mage said, walking out in a grey blouse and dark green skirt with matching leggings. “Gloria gave me some spare clothes.”

“Now then, I want this guy found.”

“The nephew?” Evergreen asked.

“No, someone...gah...got this town mad enough to attack Ramona...find the nephew and interrogate him! GO!”

The Thunder God Tribe snapped to attention. “YES, SIR!” and scattered, leaving the man groaning in pain.

The three tribe members scrambled out of the house and back into town. It was as if the feeling of being unwelcome wasn’t evident before it was now. Now many of the townsfolk actively avoided them.

“This is going to be much harder than I thought,” Freed grumbled.

“I’ll say. They look like rabbits!” Bickslow commented.

“Rabbits! Rabbits! Rabbits!”

“Whoa, talking puppets!” One of the kids shouted.

One of the mothers screamed, “Mason, get back here!” 

Bickslow grinned and nudged Freed and Evergreen. “I got the kids. Maybe the moms will warm up to me.”

“Perhaps I can talk to Ryan again,” Evergreen muttered as they walked away. “He might know something about the attack.

“As should the guards," Freed concurred. He patted her shoulder. "Good luck."

"Ugh, I’d rather talk to Elfman. At least he has manners," Evergreen groaned with a blush. They split off to accomplish their missions. Evergreen quickly made her way to a tavern. It was early evening, and the patrons were drinking and arguing loudly. Evidently, the fight earlier had split a festering wound that was their opinions of mages wide open as arguments got louder and louder.

When she entered, all activity stopped and stared at her. Given she was a woman of Fairy Tail, this was not unusual, but she was still uncomfortable at the stares. Ryan approached with his lackeys. "You are bold to assume you can walk in Ryan's domain."

"I assure you," Evergreen scoffed. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my job. We're investigating the Dopant attacks. and we believe it’s centered on the attack on Ramona.

Ryan's eyes hardened. "Not here. Let's take this outside." The change in tone took Evergreen off guard as he led her to the alleyway next to it. Turning towards her, he cleared his throat. "Listen, even if Ramona was a mage, I would never hurt her. The only thing I can confess is jealousy that she chose Jordan."

"You were jealous?" Evergreen raised an eyebrow.

"She...and Jordan were my friends. I may be an idiot, but I always wanted to protect them. That's why the day of the attack, I was going to warn them and Gloria to consider leaving."

"Was there anything that happened that day that felt...off?"

Ryan rubbed his chin. "You know...now that Ryan thinks about it, the head guard James came to me about an hour before the attack. Next thing Ryan knew, Ryan saw her bleeding on the ground with her arm smashed.”

Evergreen realized this was a clue. "Could a mage have hypnotized you?"

Ryan stared at Evergreen. "If that's the case, then someone is lying to us. But it couldn't be James, could it? Paranoia is one thing, but to lead a lynching party?"

"One more thing before I leave, what's the reason this town hates mages?" Evergreen pressed.

"It was a long time ago. Let's just say things happened during one of the many guild wars that made our ancestors hate them. You need to leave before someone gets suspicious."

The stone mage nodded and headed away. Ryan went back into the pub a few moments later. His lackey spoke up, "What did that mage bitch want?

"Just to find where she can get more of the Ryan. Apparently, I'm too much for her!" He boasted, keeping up appearances.

Meanwhile, Freed was making his way to the guard hut. One of them approached him, his spear raised. “Halt! State your business mage!”

“I’m looking for James, is he here?”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “Haven’t you done enough damage today?”

“I’ll decide that, thank you very much. Anyway, James? I hear he’s the guy in charge of you?”

“For your information, Commander James has gone on patrol,” he responded, looking over his shoulder. Suddenly correcting himself as he saw the one Freed sought, he continued with tight lips, “Or rather, he was… Commander James?”

“Yes?” the knight asked. Seeing Freed, he growled, “What do you want?”

“Information about Ramona’s attack primarily. But I feel something else is going on.”

James scoffed. “So what, you know this town hates mages. Especially after what they did to our ancestors two hundred fifty years ago.”

“What happened?”

“Cultists, disguised as one of your guildies, used our town as a base of operations. They sacrificed our people to summon monstrosities to attack the rest of this country. After we were freed, we swore, no more mages allowed in this town.”

“A dark guild nearly destroyed your town. I can understand your apprehension to us,” Freed admitted, “We nearly had one destroy our own guild over the fact that we had something of value to them. But you must realize that not all of us are bad. Some of us are actively trying to protect people.” He winced when he remembered what his team did. “And sometimes, mistakes are made. But it’s those willing to forgive them that make our guild who we are. Right now, my mission is to find out why this Dopant is destroying your town. And I believe it was Ramona’s attack that started this. Something of Karma if you ask me.”

“What are you implying?” James asked.

“I’m saying what Friedrich said might have some truth. Whoever attacked Ramona had a more personal grudge against her.”

“I think,” James began, drawing his sword openly, “You need to leave.”

Seeing that he’d overstayed his welcome, Freed left the guard hut.

“What was that about, sir?” The patrolman wondered.

“Nothing, I just remembered I was going to the pub for a drink. I’ll be back in a few," James muttered, heading into town.

By the time Freed and Evergreen met back up, the sun finally set, allowing some of the brighter stars to appear.

“It appears Ryan, Jordan, and Ramona were friends, but something caused Ryan to betray them. From what he told me, the only thing he was guilty of was jealousy,” Evergreen revealed.

Before Freed could respond, they heard a rustling in the bushes. The two mages tensed and prepared to fire a spell at whoever was in the bushes. The figure stepped out, and the rising moonlight revealed a tall, dark-haired, lavender-eyed man with numerous scars across his arms and chest. He had an angry look on his face.

“Jealousy? He betrayed me for Ramona choosing me!?” the man snarled.

“You...must be Jordan. What are you doing here?” Freed asked.

“Not that it matters, but I was trying to find that guy who hurt me earlier! I want some revenge!” Jordan snapped.

“If you’re talking about Friedrich, he’s helping your girlfriend.”

His body froze at the mention of those two words. Muscles twitching ever so slightly, he felt himself lose it even more. “He’s at Ramona’s house?! THAT BASTARD!” his voice roared, suddenly making a break towards the house.

Freed sighed, sarcastically commenting, “He certainly took that one well.” Without a moment to spare, the two followed suit.

Evergreen cursed, “I think we just goofed up,” as they made chase. Moments later, they met up with Bickslow and raced towards Ramona’s house altogether. As they bolted into the living room, they saw Jordan standing over Friedrich, his Gaea Memory in his hands.

“You…You were hired to kill me. And now look at you!” he laughed. “I can’t believe I lost to you.”

Friedrich groaned as he rolled the pillow off, flipping him off with his good hand. “Can you shut up, I got a bad headache saving your girlfriend.”

“Bullshit!”

“If you’re not gonna believe me, don’t bother me with _your_ bullshit. I’ve been on this couch...for three hours...AFTER...I took your girlfriend’s injuries. If I didn’t, she probably would be in a coma!”

“Wh-what?” Jordan uttered, hands shaking almost as if his mind was stuck between using the Memory here and now, or hearing out his supposed enemy first. Either way, in his mind, it was hard to believe him as it was. There couldn’t have been any kind of magic or spell on his guy that could’ve done as he described. Yet here he was, looking pathetic and less like the mercenary from before that the man’s mind made Fried out to be. He eventually answered back, “Y-you can’t fool me! She’s… She looks no different than she did before!”

But no sooner than a moment later, they heard the stairs squeak. Everyone turned to see Ramona delicately heading down for the first time since. When she landed on the ground floor, she slowly scanned the room seeing all these strangers. Finally, she spoke quietly as her aqua blue eyes made out the presence of her lover. “J-Jordan?”

“Ramona?” cracked Jordan’s voice. Not even taking a second afterward, he hobbled over to her. Disbelief painted his entire expression as he couldn’t tell if this was too good to be true. Both hands slowly reached toward her face, wanting to feel her cheeks if only for a brief moment. Yet he didn’t try, afraid that he’d just scare her off.

Jordan’s mouth attempted to form coherent words, much less complete ones. So many emotions were going through the man that he had no idea what to do or say.

“Yeah, okay, so I wasn’t bullshitting you,” interrupted Friedrich, “Meanwhile, we got bigger issues. Your Gaea Memory and whoever was behind your attack.”

Instantly getting attention, he slowly turned around, focusing on the here and now, “Y-yeah… You’re right. But wait, what did you…?”

As he started to ask, Ramona began to touch her left arm, much to the concern of her lover, yet she did not flinch in agony. Without a second thought, she tried circling it slowly, unsurprisingly leading to the same result. It was as Friedrich said, and now there was proof.

“Jordan, I don’t believe it… I’m… Who healed me?” she finally asked, showing as much awe as he did.

“I did,” Friedrich confirmed, sitting up as he adjusted his arm sling with a grunt of pain. “You were touch and go…”

The female mage continued, “How did you do that? Wh-what kind of Magic did you use? It’s… just that I’ve never….

“Let’s call it a trick I picked up. Damn it, and now I know how Drew felt when I knocked him around.” He glared at Jordan. “Now that we’re all on the same page, what the hell happened?”

Jordan stared at the floor, “We were supposed to have been long gone. But the day before we were to leave, my _friend_ attacked us in the middle of the day!” He snapped. “He knew we were leaving, and I thought he was wishing us off. Instead, I watched my best friend attack _MY_ Girlfriend, while the village held me back!”

Friedrich humphed. “Hypocritical of the town to attack a mage when they all have innate magic.”

“Wait, what?” Bickslow asked skeptically. “They’re all mages?”

“No, I can feel the internal energies of people, and almost all of them have latent magic, apart from the guards. Just goes to show you that hatred is learned, not inherited.”

“But...why attack me?” Ramona asked.

Friedrich shrugged. “Has this town ever been violent?”

“No. Now that I think about it, they only started getting restless in the last month,” Jordan muttered.

“I did find something out about the attack from Ryan,” Evergreen chimed in. “Not even an hour before she was attacked, he was approached by James. Next thing he remembers was him standing over Ramona and the town cheering. He claims he was going to visit you to warn you the village was going to attack her.”

“He...was going to warn us? Jordan, maybe we should talk to him,” Ramona pleaded.

Freed glanced out the window and frowned. “I think you might get your chance. Look!” They all looked outside to see Ryan marching towards him.

Jordan growled before marching out, slamming the door open. “Back for round two, bastard!? Let’s go!” he called out, putting some backbone into it. Though he wasn’t going to make the first move, he was ready to fight back if need be.

Bickslow watched Ryan approach and noticed something in the man’s eyes. They looked dull, almost lifeless. “Something ain’t right with him.”

“How can you tell?” Friedrich asked.

“My Figure Eyes Magic is all about creating puppets out of my opponent. I know what hypnosis looks like. Someone’s possessing or controlling him.”

Friedrich watched as Ryan and Jordan began to grapple, the memory user starting to overwhelm the strong man thanks to the lingering effects of his usage “That means there’s a mage here somewhere.”

“What do we do?” Freed asked.

“First? Stop them from killing each other!” Friedrich ordered. “My arm still needs a few more minutes!”

Freed quickly channeled magic into his eyes and focused it on Ryan. **“Dark Ecriture: PAIN!”** Due to being a normal civilian, Freed cut the power to it. Still, it did its job and forced the hypnotized strongman back. Jordan, though, pressed his advantage and speared the man to the ground before punching him repeatedly.

“Stop it! PLEASE STOP IT!” Ramona screamed, tears escaping her control as she watched the former friends brutally beat each other into the ground. “Jordan, there has to be another way!”

“Surely there’s something we can do?” Evergreen asked.

“Yeah, I got an idea. Jordan! Hold off on your bloodlust for, like, ten seconds!

Jordan looked up from Ryan’s bloody face. “Why should I? He started it!”

“Just stand him up!” Friedrich ordered, his free hand contorting into a gesture. **“Mirror Make: One Way Lens.”**

A large rectangular barrier appeared between him and Ryan, transparent from Friedrich’s end, but reflective from the other side. However, the man could then see an aura shimmering around Ryan’s head. **“Mirror Magic: Shade Capture!”** Friedrich snapped his fingers, and the mirror shattered into pieces, which then faded away.

Simultaneously, Ryan gasped in pain. “HRRGHNN…!” He held his head as he rolled around on the ground. Jordan crawled back and watched Ryan screamed into the night. A few moments later, he calmed down out of breath. “What...where...am I?”

“You’re at our house,” Ramona answered.

Ryan looked at the girl, bewildered. “R-Ramona? Your...okay?”

“Yeah, no thanks to you, bastard!” Jordan snarled.

“You don’t get to hold the moral high ground here, Jordan,” Friedrich snapped, “Ryan, what was the last thing that you remember?”

Ryan held his head, which may have been because of the beating he just endured. “I…was going home…I saw what I thought was James talking...about...Miracle Eye and then I heard a bell. Next thing I knew I was on the ground listening to my...former friend curse me out.”

“That’s gotta be a hypnotic trigger,” Evergreen realized. “James is hiding more than he lets on.”

“But we don’t have a way to prove that,” Freed argued.

“I don’t know, but we need to think of something. Otherwise, Ramona and Jordan are going to be in danger,” Friedrich agreed as the two men glared at each other.

Next Day

Through convincing a few people, Friedrich persuaded the mayor to call a town meeting and allowed everyone to gather in the center. The citizens walked up to see Jordan tied up and glaring at the crowd. Once they had gathered and the guards were in place to protect the townsfolk, it was time for the plan to begin.

“Thank you for coming,” Friedrich began. “Thanks to our efforts, we have our suspect in custody. Jordan here has decided to come quietly to protect his girlfriend. You know, the one that someone decided to try crippling, thereby starting all this.” 

Some of the crowd looked guilty, but the other half was shouting insults at the girl standing next to the kneeling man. Friedrich then reached into his jacket with his healed arm and pulled out the Gaea Memory. It had an italic B with a lit fuse at the end.

**BOMB**

“This is a Gaea Memory. This is what’s plaguing Fiore at the moment and what Jordan here was using to ruin your crops. Without it, he won’t be anymore.”

The same split began to mutter or cheer over the fact of the so-called problem pair leaving. James chimed in. “I bet he bought that with the money he was saving for his escape from here. Good riddance, I say! Mayor, let me get my licks in before you banish him!”

Friedrich tilted his head, gazing at the guard for a moment. Then he smirked. “James, was it? It’s true that Jordan _did_ buy the Gaea Memory, we know that most of them are. My question though is, in a town that hates magic to the point of no magic shops...how in the world do you know that that’s what he did?”

James gulped as the words filtered through the citizen’s minds. Trevor spoke up, “James...where did you find this Memory?”

“I didn’t find it! I was given it!” James snapped only to realize he screwed up.

“James, how could you?” Trevor asked trembling.

“Better question would be where’s the real James?” Friedrich asked.

“That’s right, James would be more concerned about outward threats. Who the hell are you?” Trevor demanded.

‘James’ began to sweat. “Oh, screw this!” He snapped his fingers, allowing his body to shimmer and change. Instead of the knightly visage that the former James gave off, this man had a manic look on his face. His skin was unnaturally pale and was wearing a cloak made of dark cloth with dark armored leggings. “I was this close to completely discrediting mages in this town and giving Miracle Eye a chance to strike at the heart of the Guild heartland!”

“Miracle Eye…I think I heard about you somewhere. Anti-magic scumbags.” Friedrich glared. “So you’re deciding to take your beliefs far enough to attack teenagers now? Why?”

The man laughed. “Why, to eliminate magic! We are the will of the Earth! Magic must be snuffed out!”

“So you’re delusional, got it,” Friedrich deadpanned, “And why this village?”

The man giggled madly. “I happened to overhear the girl here who had some powerful magic. She might have turned this town’s way of thinking to be more positive, and I couldn’t let that way of life end!”

“Uh-huh,” drawled Friedrich, looking thoroughly unimpressed, “Sure. Right. So, what would you do if I told you that just about every person in this village had the potential for magic.”

A wave of shock, and more than a little dismay, passed through the crowd. The lot of them felt unable or unwilling to do anything against the man revealed to impersonating one of their own.

“What are you talking about?” Trevor asked curiously. “We would have known if we were mages.”

“Not without a proper trigger or a teacher,” Freed chimed in. “Most magics are taught by another mage. Many of our guild members had a teacher of their own. Barring that, they had some sort of reaction to stimuli. Without an outside source, no one would know.”

“All the more reason to remove it!” The zealot declared. “With no training, why should people use magic? Better to eradicate it than let amateurs use it at will!”

Friedrich blinked slowly. “Okay, I’mma need you to back that up and walk me through that thought process,” he said, looking decidedly unimpressed, “You don’t want amateurs using magic? What, do you want some kinda monopoly on it or something?”

“Why yes! With us only wielding magic, we can render mages extinct, and we can rule the world with our power!” The man laughed

Friedrich frowned, pretending to mull this over. “I see. So you just want to rule the world, and are using the window dressing of anti-magic dogma as an excuse.” He smiled. “That’s what I thought! Thanks for the clarification.”

The zealot’s smile slipped from his face.

“Of course, your plan has a bunch of gaping holes in it. First of all, you can’t stop people from discovering and developing their magic. Given that it took this long for me actually to meet one of you sons of bitches, you seem to be a fairly small group,” he began listing off, smiling cheerfully. Nonetheless, nobody present could miss the vein pulsing in his temple, nor the cold venom lacing every word. “You would NOT have the numbers necessary to stamp out magic all over this country, let alone the world. But I guess your leader didn’t think of that; cult leaders tend to be the most deluded and foolish, even more so than the ones they dupe into following them.”

“You don’t know what you’re—!”

“Shut the fuck up.” The command was delivered placidly and without a trace of warmth. “Now, what a sane and competent terrorist group might have done was stick to the shadows, picking out nice, low-risk targets to either pick off or add to their ranks. Clearly, you were trying to do the latter here.” He gazed around at the villagers, who shuffled uncomfortably under his blue-green stare. “This village has their reasons for hating magic, which I honestly don’t give a shit about. I can see why you’d want to rope them into your little ‘let’s take over the world’ plan. But you seem to have hit a snag. Several, really. The first was that you thought that you could stamp out the magic starting to grow here by shattering a young girl’s arm so badly that she could never use it again. I know, because I took that injury from her.” He hopped down from the stage and began sauntering towards the infiltrator. “Your second mistake was turning her lover into a Dopant, something that only the Fairy Tail Guild could deal with, all but ensuring that either one of the Kamen Riders or myself would get involved. The fact that you got yours truly was, more or less, the luck of the draw.” He stopped right in front of the man, glaring down at him. _“And your third mistake was thinking you would_ ever _get away with it.”_

The Miracle Eye member looked like he was about to burst. “W-what makes you think that Fairy Tail will stop us? Our new partner Lady Yuzan will crush every one of you!”

“Well, now you just got Fairy Tail involved!” Friedrich casually said. “Oh...by the way...little secret? Your Lady? I fought her! Made her look preeeetty dumb the first time around, sent her flying over the horizon the second time.”

“LIES!” The man snapped. “I’ll destroy you, heretics!” With that, the man started to whistle. Jordan’s eyes went blank, his body beginning to tremble like a violent earthquake.

“Jordan?” Ramona asked worriedly. The worry turned to panic as he roared with a crack in his tone. His muscles twitched as his body shook side to side with violent spasms. Finally, with a strong grunt, he broke free of the restraints Freed put on him.

“God damn it,” Friedrich cursed. The momentary distraction was enough for the cultist to swoop in and grab the memory and toss it at Jordan. 

“You like it? Heh, he was so easy to target. His precious girlfriend was hurt, and he was looking for revenge. Now, Jordan, be a good boy and KILL THEM ALL!”

“Yes…” Jordan muttered, pressing the button on the Bomb memory.

**BOMB**

He jammed the memory into the slot that was sticking out of his right, allowing Tsar Kelvin to take hold of the young man.

“Don’t just stand there!” Friedrich barked at the villagers, “Get out of here!” His jacket liquified, flowing over his body and solidifying into silver power armor.

**“So you’ve returned! I’ll crush you and destroy this damn village.**

“Returned? Son of a bitch, I’ve been right here, and you know it!” Friedrich growled as he caught the Dopant’s wild swing, bracing himself against the heavy impact. His eyes flashed as he called up his copy of Freed’s magic, using his free hand to swipe at the air with a finger quickly. A large diamond of runes glowed as they became inscribed into the ground in front of the stage.

The intruding cultist frowned as the Thunder God Tribe flew around him. Freed turned, his eye twitched. "Why did you steal my magic?"

“I didn’t,” Friedrich deadpanned. “I copied it, same as practically everyone in Fairy Tail, especially the Riders.” He pulled out the Laser Memory, while a segment of liquid metal bubbled up from his shoulder, forming into a sleek cannon, which he slammed the USB into.

**Laser!**

The turret jerked to life, blasting multicolored rays of searing light at the Dopant, sparks bursting and showering from each point of impact. Sadly, the Tsar showed very little reaction, raising his hands with his fingers pointed outward. Hammers like from a gun pulled back from each knuckle, before with a flurry of bangs, each fingertip shot at Friedrich, bouncing off his armor in return. The shockwaves kicked up the dirt and damaged the buildings behind him.

 **“Must destroy!”** The dopant hissed, regrowing his fingers. The fuses hanging from his elbows ignited and rapidly burned down before his fists blasted off like rockets. Friedrich cursed and fired his laser, burning holes through them with two rapid bursts. A set of smaller emitters formed on his wrists, firing their own lasers at the Dopant in return, severing fuses and welding plates together.

 **“Grrr….stand still!”** The dopant charged the traveler, his shoulders exploding to propel him forward.

“I’d like to _keep_ my head. Thank you!” Friedrich yelled, leaping up, his laser fired off more times and striking the dopant.

Ramona gasped as her boyfriend knocked around like a punching bag. Finding this hard to watch, she blurted out, “Don’t kill him!”

“I won’t!” Friedrich snapped back. “Your boyfriend is currently transformed using a special form of energized _information!_ Nothing I do will end up affecting him, but I can sure as hell wreck his form!”

Behind them, the cultist had been knocked down by Freed’s Dark Ecriture. “You cursed mages, why are you doing this?! Will you go to no lengths to impose your foul magic on the world?!”

“Nope! And we’ll go to no lengths to make sure guys like you get what’s coming to you!” Bickslow shouted.

The man growled and glared at Freed. “You don’t even have spell circles for your magic. Can’t you see that magic only makes one soft?”

Freed clenched his fists as he summoned his magic and struck the man down again. “Once upon a time, I thought everyone that wasn’t my...superior was not worthy of wielding our guild name. But, his ideals were proven wrong. And as much as I hate to say it, I was wrong about Friedrich to a degree.”

“You're admitting you were wrong? Why?” Friedrich asked, kicking away the Dopant.

“Maybe it was because Drew kept speaking up for you. Maybe it was the way you kept entrancing my guild. Perhaps deep down, I was jealous that someone took Laxus’ spot so soon. But I understand now that maybe we need to change.”

“Humanity is always resistant to change,” Friedrich conceded.

“Bah! Who cares! TSAR!” The cultist shouted. The Dopant looked up to the man. “This town is finished!”

The Dopant’s eyes flashed. **“Yes…”** Reaching up, he seized one of the plates on his chest, which Friedrich had neglected to target, and ripped it off with a cry. Mechanical innards were thrown into view, particularly a large disk where his heart ought to be, from which a familiar pin popped out. **“This whole town is beyond saving!”** roared Tsar Kelvin, reaching up to seize the pin, **“SO I’LL TAKE YOU ALL DOWN TO HELL WITH ME!!!”**

**BOMB: MAXIMUM DRI** **—** **!**

Quickly, Friedrich whipped out another memory and slotted it into his suit’s arm, slamming the button at the top.

**FIST: MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

Then, with a grunt of **“Command V!”** he shot forward, his silvery armor warping and expanding into a massive gauntlet. Just as the Dopant’s finger passed through the loop of his heart’s grenade pin, that gigantic fist _smashed_ into him, crushing his hand and snapping the pin, leaving him unable to pull it. “NOT TODAY!” roared Friedrich, even as the monster was lifted off his feet thrown to the ground.

The Tsar writhed and howled with pain on the ground, his left arm crumbling to pieces, while Ramona flinched, gripping her elbow convulsively. Then his head snapped up, glaring at Friedrich, while his mouth unfolded to reveal the large cannon from earlier. **“DIE** **—** **!”**

**FIST: MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

Yet again, a massive fist slammed down into him, crushing his metallic head into the ground. “I said not today,” retorted Friedrich coldly.

Suddenly, there was a clunk as every single part of the Dopant’s body suddenly detached. The upper arm, lower arm, hand, foot, fingers, _everything_ split apart, ejecting grenade pins.

Still under the influence of his speed magic, Friedrich slammed the button on his arm once more, raising it high.

**F I S T ! MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

This time, his armor flowed from his body into his arm, transforming it into a truly gargantuan silver hand. The ground trembled as with a *BOOOOOM!* he slammed his tremendous palm down on the pile of body parts, completely covering them. “I. Said. Not. Today.”

The moment the fist landed, the bombs went off, dozens of explosions going off like firecracker pops, making him wince from the shrapnel striking the palm. Once satisfied that there were no more, he slowly raised his hand to see the damage. To his relief, Jordan had returned to normal, the Bomb memory lying next to his arm. Quickly reaching down to scoop it up, he spun around and cursed, drawing his nails from his coat. The cultist, having seen that he was going to lose, had grabbed a nearby Ramona in a desperate bid to negotiate his escape.

However, not one to let herself easily give into something like this, the mage tried to fight back his grip. With a series of determined grunts, her body flailed back and forth before trying to strike her arms against the captor’s chest. Try as she might to not let herself hinder the fight, the man was too tenacious to let her retaliatory attempts to ruin his desperate resort.

“S-stay back! Or she dies!” he threatened, pushing the knife against her slender neck.

The brunette begged, “N-no! Don’t listen to him!”

“SILENCE!” he then demanded, tapping the slightest edge of the blade against some of her skin. Feeling her blood coming from that slight cut wound, she knew all too well this was a clear sign of how serious the foe was.

The tribe, knowing they didn’t want her hurt, powered down their magic. As they did so, the hostage mentally cursed her own luck, feeling nothing but responsible for being the metaphoric bargaining chip twice over.

The cultist grinned maniacally. “FOOLS!” He powered up a black spell that slowly formed into a hissing cobra, poised to strike. **“SERPENT'S EMBRACE!”**

Two large fangs of dark energy fired from his right hand, aimed at Evergreen. The snake’s visage bared down on the stone mage, too frozen to move out of the way as all three of her companions were too slow to react. Ramona, for her part, watched the spell speed towards one of the mages. Fed up with being a helpless tool, she made her assist, and in a burst of adrenaline, she threw her arm out.

** “Mirror Magic: REFLECT BOUNDER!” **

A large, rounded mirror appeared in front of Evergreen, which the two fangs slammed into, sinking into the surface. The mirror then flashed brightly, and the projectiles fired right back out, flying past the cultist to plow into the dirt, kicking up dust. The impact knocked Ramona, away and she crashed with a pained gasp next to Jordan, who was starting to wake up.

“R-Ramona…” he coughed.

“You're safe...thank goodness,” she murmured, placing her hand on his cheek, tears dripping down her cheek.

The cultist growled. “You bitch! I should have killed you my-” Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Evergreen got close enough to him and lowered her glasses to activate her Stone Eyes magic.

Friedrich stood up, cracking his neck as he sauntered over. As he did so, his armor receded, transforming back into his blue long-coat except for a single silvery gauntlet, which began to shimmer and ripple. He nodded to Evergreen, who broke the spell. Then he lowered himself into a crouch in front of the cultist, staring him in the eye.

“Tch. Come to gloat, mage?” spat the cornered mastermind, “No prison in the kingdom will hold me for long. You’ll have to kill me!”

“Yes,” agreed Friedrich calmly, gazing evenly at him, “I certainly could do that.”

The other man grinned wide. “My life matters nothing to the cause! It will live on without me!”

“That’s also true.”

His rictus of mad self-righteousness faltered at the agreement.

Friedrich regarded him archly for a moment. “Yesterday, while I waited four hours to heal the broken bones _you_ caused, I put a great deal of thought into how I would deal with you,” he told him.

“Hah! Go ahead and tell me then! Will you use your oh so superior magic to stamp out the glory of Miracle Eye like the tyrants you are?!”

Friedrich smiled. “What a drastic conclusion for you to come to. I suppose it fits; a narrow-minded little zealot like you couldn’t possibly imagine a different way of thinking from your own.”

The cultist snarled.

“I could kill you, certainly. I have any number of powers that could inflict a cruel fate upon you. I could put you into a loop of several seconds while you bleed out over and over again. I could bury you in countless poisonous insects. I could freeze you solid and smash you with a hammer…and so many other things.”

“Feh! Just like a mage—!”

Friedrich’s smile only widened. “And there we get to the heart of it. That attitude. That mindset that lets you tell yourself that no matter what, you’re in the right. No matter how I’d kill you, you’d die with a smile on your face, thinking that you’re a hero to your movement.”

He held up his gauntlet, to show that several pieces of white, glowing crystal had risen to the surface, setting themselves in place on the back of his hand.

_“And I decided that that is unacceptable.”_

Realizing his danger too late, the Miracle Eye cultist tried to scramble back, but Friedrich’s hand shot out to grab the top of his head, keeping him in place with a deceptively strong grip.

“You are not going to die today, friend,” he told the criminal, “No, your punishment will be far more severe than that. You tried to cripple a young girl for life, and take from her the ability to live a normal life. Thus, I shall take from you that which you cherish most: your pride in being part of Miracle Eye, and your hatred of magic.”

The cultist shook. “N-no, please, mercy!”

“Oh no. This _is_ mercy.” The Nirvana core fragments in his gauntlet began to glow. “You will thank me for this. I will ensure it. **Nirvana Magic: Forced Enlightenment.”**

The man screamed as a flash of light lit up the area, making everyone else shield their eyes. Moments later, it faded away, the main victim falling silent. Friedrich released him, letting his figure flop to the ground limply as he stood up. “Alright, better be on our way,” he said casually, “I’ll leave his fate for the foreseeable future up to you.”

“What did you do?” Freed asked incredulously.

“Oh, just made sure Karma came for him,” Friedrich replied, starting to walk away.

“What? You cursed him or something?” Bickslow joked.

“Joke! Joke! Joke!” His puppets echoed.

Friedrich shrugged unconcernedly. “Maybe it’s a curse. Most likely, the others’ll see it that way when they hear about it. Basically, I overrode his deepest feelings and stripped away his unwillingness to see any other point of view, then enforced the opposite worldview over his previous one. If he ever gets out of prison, he’ll probably become one hell of a magic scholar.”

Freed shifted uncomfortably. “That sounds…”

“Like a violation of everything that makes a person unique?” Friedrich shrugged again. “Probably. But given what made _him_ unique, I don’t think anyone will particularly mourn the old him. I sure as hell won’t.” Then he glanced around at the village. “Of course, the only reason he got as bold as he did was because of this place.”

“Surely, you don’t think our village willingly let him into our midst…?” asked Trevor nervously.

Friedrich snorted. “Willingly, no. But he sure felt like his movement would gain a lot of traction here, didn’t he?”

Evergreen sighed. “It’s understandable, you know? Mages hurt this village in the past.”

“And that’s the past. It’s plain as day that you lot don’t know a thing about magic,” he continued, addressing the assembled villagers, “You hate it, but not because you know it. You hate it because that’s what you were told to do because it’s different.” He glanced at Ramona, who was helping Jordan to his feet. “If you ever feel like using your power to help the wider world,” he told her, “Seek out the Fairy Tail guild. But if you still want to help your village, you can do that too. I won’t force you to do anything else with your power.”

She nodded with uncertainty. Jordan looked at her, smiling as if he felt there was some merit to the man’s suggestion. Looking back at Ryan, then the tribe, he felt his lingering guilt catch up with him.

He walked up to Fried, kneeling on one leg with his head low. “Thank you for everything. Please… forgive me for all that I’ve done. I know I was out of sorts, but I still feel part of this is on me. If only I knew better… Quite honestly, I don't think someone like myself deserves to be with Ramona, much less a citizen of this village.”

“Chin up, Jordan,” voiced Ryan, much to his surprise, “Ryan believes your willingness to find the truth was admirable. Besides…” he paused, taking a moment to think on how to continue. “Ryan apol—” he coughed, correcting himself, “I… apologize for being a terrible friend. I’m just as guilty for causing you both hell.”

The scarred man slowly stood up, turning around to face him fully. Both lavender eyes studied the other’s expression with some disbelief. Yet he knew there was genuine sympathy proven by his apology. Jordan smirked, “Apology accepted, Ryan. But _Jordan_ thinks we’re not even just yet.” His sudden use of the first-person style awarded him an incredulous gaze from everyone but Ryan, though he felt he had nothing to regret.

Ryan then protested, “H-hey! Not funny! That sounded like a pretentious jerk!”

“Hah! Talk about calling the kettle black!” Bickslow remarked, getting a laugh out of the rest of them, Fried especially, who then looked back to Ramona.

“Ah, also, before I go…would you like me to modify your memory?”

“W-what?” gasped the brunette, paling.

“Nothing too much,” Friedrich assured the girl, “But the trauma of getting your injury isn’t something that you deserve to live with. I can dull your memory of it, and let time do the rest.”

The girl bit her lip, thinking for a moment, grasping her left arm shakily. Then, tremulously, she nodded.

A pat on the head from a glowing gauntlet later, and the haunted look in her eyes receded greatly. It was still there, but there was a new strength in her gaze now.

Giving her a small smile and a nod, Friedrich gave the rest of the village a look. “Get yourselves a damn education.”

With that final statement, he turned on his heel and stalked out through the gate, the Thunder God Tribe following behind him, to where their carriage back to Magnolia awaited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ?: PHEW! Awesomeness. We didn’t get this out for Easter, but I say the wait was worth it.
> 
> NS: Agreed. This is a chapter that I’ve been thinking about for a LONG time. It still didn’t come out the way I wanted it, but whatever. What’s done is done. I did have fun coming up with abilities for the Bomb Dopant, though. Easily the toughest one that Friedrich’s had to fight to date, one who had figured out plenty of ways to exploit its power.
> 
> And speaking of powers, it’s time to explain them!
> 
> This time, Friedrich used the power of a cape known as Scapegoat. As a rare Healing-type Cape, Scapegoat could heal others by transferring their injuries onto himself. This effect would last for several hours before the injuries would fade away, although acquiring new injuries could force the target to regain the old ones. In addition, Scapegoat could supposedly transfer injuries from himself to enemies, though we never saw this in canon.
> 
> ?: I have to admit, this has me wondering about all the other fictional powers that exist out there. Like, seriously, that was a treat to see written. Alright, anything else?
> 
> UO: THIS LOCKDOWN SUCKS! That is all! Next Gaiden chapter won't be till after Edolas.
> 
> ?: Ah, right. I keep forgetting I’ve yet to familiarize myself with the full arc’s contents, aside from a few basics and important events. Also, Oz, maybe give a friend a warning next time you intend to warp him?
> 
> OSPREY….SWOOOSH

**Author's Note:**

> FHG
> 
> NS: And there you have it. My guy, out there at last.
> 
> UO: He will join the story properly once I finish the Fantasia arc. Which shouldn’t be too long. Once I finish the next chapter, the pace of progress will pick up tremendously as NS joins as a co-writer and I can split my focus properly.
> 
> NS: Yeah, and you don’t post your chapters before I can beta them. :P
> 
> UO: Excuse me, Mr I haven’t updated on the site in months.
> 
> NS: You’re not excused. That being said, this story won’t be posted until the end of Fantasia, when he makes his first appearance, so as not to spoil the surprise. Anyway, now for the list of Friedrich’s powers and their status.
> 
> Mysticism: Control mechanism damaged.  
> Supernatural Combat: Functional.  
> Intuitive Replication: Functional, but uncooperative.  
> Power Suit: Severely damaged, Nonfunctional.  
> Weighted Attacks: Functional.  
> Electromagnetic Projectiles: Functional.  
> Inspired Inventor: Reset, but Functional  
> (Unknown): Activated  
> (Unknown): Standing by for trigger.


End file.
